Russia, China and Indonesia reaffirm readiness to step up trilateral cooperation

On Wednesday, 12 July, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a series of meetings on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) events in Jakarta, Indonesia.

In the morning, the Russian diplomat took part in a trilateral meeting with Wang Yi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who noted that "more dialogue and more cooperation" are needed in the face of contemporary challenges.

The representatives of the Russian Federation, China and Indonesia reaffirmed their readiness to intensify trilateral cooperation to ensure food and energy security. The parties will continue to work in this direction.

In his turn, the Russian Foreign Minister emphasised that ASEAN is "the best basis" for discussing regional issues. He also thanked his counterpart from Jakarta for organizing the dialogue in the format Russia-Indonesia-China.

Lavrov also held bilateral talks with Retno Marsudi. The foreign ministers discussed the development of the security architecture in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), as reported by TASS.

The Russian Foreign Minister then met with his Laotian counterpart Saleumxay Kommasith. The sides discussed priority tasks of strengthening the Russian-Lao strategic partnership "with a focus on deepening political dialogue, increasing trade and investment cooperation, and expanding humanitarian and educational exchanges".

Another important event on the margins of ASEAN events was Lavrov's talks with Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Russian diplomat invited the ASEAN Secretary General to visit Russia.

The Russian Foreign Minister will stay in Jakarta until 14 July. In the coming days, he will take part in the meetings of the heads of foreign ministries of the Russia-ASEAN format, in the meetings of the foreign ministers of the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Security Forum (ARF).

Photo: flickr.com