An official reception was hosted by Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Russian Foreign Ministry’s residence on 4 October 2011 to mark the 15th anniversary of the dialogue partnership between Russia and ASEAN. YBhg Dato’ Zainol Abidin Omar, Ambassador of Malaysia to the Russian Federation who is the current Chairman of the ASEAN Moscow Committee (AMC), together with other ASEAN Ambassadors participated in this commemorative event. Apart from the diplomats from ASEAN, representatives of the various Russian ministries and departments, business and academicians who are actively promoting cooperation between Russia and ASEAN in various spheres also attended the reception.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov welcomed the development of the Russian-ASEAN dialogue, which had reached a high level. He stressed on the importance of fully implementing all the agreements reached during the second Russia-ASEAN Summit in Hanoi in October 2010 in order to upgrade the efficiency of interaction on priority tracks such as trade, economics, traditional and renewable energy resources, response to emergency situations, science and technologies. He also reiterated the importance of ASEAN as a Russian partner in the formation of an open and equal security and cooperation architecture in the Asia Pacific region.
YBhg Dato Zainol Abidin Omar thanked the Russian Foreign Minister for hosting the official function to commemorate the 15th Anniversary of the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue partnership. He traced the history of the ASEAN-Russia Dialogue partnership and confirmed the readiness of the ASEAN ten to promote a sustainable and comprehensive partnership with Russia in the interest of stability and prosperity of the Asia Pacific region. He also acknowledged the role played by the ASEAN – Russia Center at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO) to further promote greater cooperation between ASEAN and the Russian Federation.