PH Ambassador to Russia Cites Potential for ASEAN-EAEU Cooperation

Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta (second from right) with the other panelist during the Business Dialogue on EAEU-ASEAN at the XXIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. (Anton Vaganov / TASS photo)

MOSCOW 03 July 2019 — Philippine Ambassador to Russia Carlos D. Sorreta discussed the potential opportunities that could result from greater cooperation between Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) on 08 June 2019.

As a panelist during the Business Dialogue on ASEAN and EAEU, Ambassador Sorreta said that ASEAN should look beyond traditional economic partners if it is to sustain its economic growth.

“For ASEAN to sustain its economic growth, we have to expand our horizons and look beyond traditional partners and markets,  and explore possible opportunities with new partners like the EAEU,” Ambassador Sorreta said, adding “For the Philippines in particular, while we have achieved impressive levels of growth, this has been mostly with traditional partners.  I believe we can do more if we broaden our circle of economic partners beyond the traditional.”

The EAEU is an economic union composed of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. It has an integrated single market of 183 million people and a gross domestic product of over US$ 4 trillion.

Ambassador Sorreta said there are a lot of trade and investment areas where there is complementarity between ASEAN and the EAEU, including energy, infrastructure, food and the digital economy.

“What is important is that individual members from each grouping get to know each other better, deepen their relations and create better understanding.  Stronger bilateral relations would lay the groundwork for greater economic cooperation between the two groups,” Ambassador Sorreta said.

The Ambassador also said that the continued deepening of relations between Russia and ASEAN is also an important factor. “Russia is the center of gravity in EAEU.  It is now a strategic partner of ASEAN.  Russia is also strengthening its bilateral relations with ASEAN member countries.  Closer ties between Russia and ASEAN can be a contributing factor to the possible creation of formal mechanisms for closer ASEAN-EAEU economic relations,” Ambassador Sorreta said.

With Ambassador Sorreta on the panel were United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Executive Secretary Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Angstrem-T General Director Andrey Anikin, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Ambassador-at-Large Kirill Barskiy, Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Hoang Quoc Vuong, Minsk Tractor Works OJSC General Director Fedor Domotenko, ASEAN Business Club President Mohd Munir Abdul Majid, Russia-ASEAN Business Council Chairman Ivan Polyakov, Indonesian Ambassador to Russia Mohamad Wahid Supriyadi, Cambodian Ministry of Commerce Secretary of State Kamrang Tekreth, vCargo Cloud Pte Chief Executive Officer Desmond Tay, Co-Founder, and Myanmar Ambassador to Russian Ko Ko Shein.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is a unique event in the world of business and economics. SPIEF has been held since 1997, and since 2006, it has been held under the auspices of the President of the Russian Federation, who has also attended each event. 

Over the last 21 years, the Forum has become a leading global platform for members of the business community to meet and discuss the key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. END

Ambassador Sorreta (center) emphasizing the need for growing economies to look beyond traditional partners and markets in order to sustain their growth during the Business Dialogue on EAEU-ASEAN at the XXIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. To Ambassador Sorreta’s right is Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Ambassador-at-Large Kirill Barskiy, and to his left is Minsk Tractor Works OJSC General Director Fedor Domotenko. (G. Perpetua photo)

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