Moscow (VNA) –The ASEAN Week 2020, which was hosted by the Moscow State Instituteof International Relations (MGIMO) under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia, with a series of cultural, scientific andeducational events, concluded onDecember 11, helping to strengthen ASEAN-Russia exchanges and cooperation.

The highlight of the virtual event wasan international seminar on Russia-ASEAN relations in the context of adynamic region, which was attended by more than 20 rapporteurs from Russia,Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Singapore, Vietnam, Myanmar and Israel.

Addressing the event, VietnameseAmbassador to Russia Ngo Duc Manh affirmed Vietnam has successfully completedits role as the Chair of ASEAN 2020, as it proactively proposed and implementedmany practical initiatives, contributing to solving fundamental, core andlong-term issues of the region.

The diplomat emphasised that as the Chair of ASEAN 2020,Vietnam has contributed significantly to deepening the Russia-ASEAN strategicpartnership, affirming that Russia and ASEAN have shared fundamental commoninterests and is facing new challenges in the region and around the world.

He spoke highly of Russia's role and activeparticipation in mechanisms where ASEAN plays a central role, such as the ASEAN Defence Ministers’Meeting (ADMM) with dialogue partner countries (ADMM+), the  East Asia Summit (EAS), and the ASEAN RegionalForum (ARF).

As the Chair of the ASEAN Moscow Committee, Manh called forstronger cooperation between Russia and ASEAN in the fields of energy,industry, high technology, financial services, agriculture and people-to-peopleexchange.

According to Dr. Ekaterina Koldunova, an expert from MGIMO, theASEAN Week aimed to strengthenrelationships between young people, experts and scholars from Russia and ASEANcountries.

This year’s event took place on theoccasion of the 10th founding anniversary of the ASEAN Centre underMGIMO./.