From June 17 to 18, the Russian city of Kazan hosted the Asean-Russia commemorative summit. It was dedicated to the 35th anniversary of Association’s relations with Russia and the 30th anniversary of their dialogue partnership. The previous summits took place in 2005 in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), in 2010 in Hanoi (Vietnam), in 2016 in Sochi (Russia), in 2018 in Singapore, and the 2021 summit was held via videoconference. All eleven Asean member states participated in the summit in Kazan and, apart from multilateral meetings, had bilateral talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The summit resulted in the signing of four documents – Kazan Declaration “Asean-Russian Federation: unity in diversity – 35 years together”, two joint statements to enhance cooperation in the spheres of energy and culture, and new Comprehensive Plan of Action to Implement Asean-Russian Federation Strategic Partnership for the years 2026–2030.
Even though from time to time one may hear that some experts in Asean lament the limited scope of Asean-Russia partnership, it is, nevertheless, progressing and acquiring new dimensions. Politically and strategically, both parties regard each other as important geopolitical centres in the emerging polycentric world. Kazan Declaration states that Asean and Russia are both aspiring for a just and multipolar world order based on international law. Conceptually, Asean already provides a normative framework for an inclusive regional order which, in practice, not in theory, accommodates diverse political and economic systems. Important elements of such a framework include the Asean Way, limitations of hegemonic competition and the idea of Asean centrality for the regional institutional network. If Asean experience could have been seriously considered internationally, most likely, a just multipolar world order might have emerged much faster.
Kazan Declaration also matches Russian and Asean visions of macro-regional development, mentioning cooperation in the geographical framework of Asia-Pacific, the Indian Ocean and Eurasia. Asean and Russia are also continuing to build bridges between various regional institutions in Eurasia, e.g. between Asean and the Eurasian Economic Union and between Asean and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation. At the same time, Russia has expressed support for four priority directions of Asean Outlook on the Indo-Pacific (AOIP) – maritime cooperation, connectivity, achievement of the UN sustainable development goals and overall economic cooperation.
Several new areas emerge as important avenues for Asean-Russia security cooperation, namely joint reaction to maritime and biological security challenges. The maritime cooperation domain includes securing freedom of navigation, seamless maritime trade and safety of underwater infrastructure. Needless to say, the 2026 US attacks against Iran and most recent events in the Middle East, which ended up with the blockade of the Hormuz strait, as well as the destruction of the “Nord Stream” pipeline from Russia to Europe in 2022, make such cooperation more than actual and necessary.
From the economic point of view, the summit highlighted a particularly important direction of Asean-Russia energy cooperation. Contrary to the European and American narratives, Russian oil, gas and other energy resources appeared to be an economically (and consequently – politically) stabilising force for many Southeast Asian states. In the situation of the Hormuz Strait blockade, the Philippines, most vulnerable to the Middle East turbulence (90% of its energy resources are received from this region), started to buy Russian oil. In March 2026, Russia and Vietnam reactivated the nuclear power plant project, which had been dormant since 2016. In April, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto visited Moscow to discuss energy security issues. Malaysia and Thailand expressed their interest in buying oil from Russia. Finally, on the eve of the Kazan summit, Russia and the Lao PDR signed an agreement to develop atomic energy for peaceful purposes.
All these developments corresponded to the general trend of making energy cooperation one of the cornerstones of Asean-Russia strategic partnership. The joint statement of Asean and Russia to enhance cooperation in the sphere of energy speaks about a direct connection between global geopolitical turbulence and regional stability. To ensure the latter, the parties agreed to cooperate both in the sphere of traditional and emerging energy sectors. Russia supported such Asean initiatives as the Asean Plan of Action for Energy Cooperation 2026-2030 and emphasised the role of affordable and sustainable energy sources in the implementation of Asean Community Vision 2045.
Other areas of economic cooperation include food security, agriculture, digital economy, tourism, and artificial intelligence development. Interaction in the sphere of culture is emerging as yet another pillar of Asean-Russia partnership, specifically the nexus of economy and cultural projects. The Kazan summit’s joint statement to enhance cooperation in culture outlines such new areas as creative industries, startups, and the use of digital technologies in the cultural sphere.
From the bilateral point of view, it is important to mention a meeting between the Prime Minister of Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim and Russian President Putin which took place on the sidelines of the Kazan summit. It is not their first meeting, and both referred to their previous encounters in Moscow and Kazan and ascertained mutual desire to develop bilateral relations further. As it was mentioned above, Malaysia hosted the first Asean-Russia summit and also supported the advancement of dialogue partnership to a strategic status.
Malaysia was represented in the summit not only at the state but also at the business level. On the sidelines of the Kazan summit, business communities of the Asean member states and Russia gathered together to exchange their opinions on the bottlenecks and prospects of bilateral and multilateral cooperation. The general outcomes of these discussions highlight the mutual desire to look for digital and logistics solutions for the disruptions emerging in the international system because of the geopolitical limitations. Now it is time to think creatively and put aspirations into practice.
Ekaterina Koldunova,
Director, Asean Centre
