29 November 2013 – Philippine Ambassador to the Russian Federation Alejandro B. Mosquera met with the officials of the Russia-ASEAN Business Council (RABC), led by Executive Director Viktor I. Tarusin, on November 26 at the Philippine Embassy in Moscow.

Director Tarusin conveyed RABC’s keen interest in establishing partnerships with Philippine government and business entities with a view to pursuing joint ventures in the area of disaster response and management, infrastructure development, and energy, among others. He stated that the RABC is set to send a business delegation to some ASEAN countries early next year and would be willing to swing by the Philippines should there be interest from the Philippine side.

Ambassador Mosquera welcomed this initiative stressing that the Philippines is committed to increasing and diversifying Philippines-Russia economic relations. He noted that bilateral trade is currently disproportionately small in relation to Russia’s economic size, scope and potential.

In 2012, total bilateral trade amounted to US$ 1.063 billion, with 996.5 million representing Russian exports to the Philippines. The large trade imbalance is attributed mainly to the amount of petroleum the Philippines imports from Russia, which comprises up to 90 percent of total imports.

Ambassador Mosquera further assured Director Tarusin of the Embassy’s support in facilitating initial contacts between the RABC and relevant private companies in the Philippines.

The RABC is currently composed of 19 Russian companies from the construction, mining, transport, infrastructure, high technologies, and information security sectors. Its operations are coordinated by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Economic Development, and Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The First ASEAN-Russia Business Forum was held on 22 June 2013, in St. Petersburg at the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. END