Rustam Minnikhanov takes part in a meeting of President of Russia with President of the Republic of Philippines

On 17 June the Rais (Head) of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov took part in a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin with the President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. held on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN Summit at the Tatar State Academic Theatre after Galiaskar Kamal in Kazan.

Speaking at the meeting, Vladimir Putin said: “It is your first visit to Russia. This year your country holds the ASEAN rotating chairmanship and we are very happy it is this year, during your so-called tenure at ASEAN, that we are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the relationship of our country with the Association. The anniversary summit is an important milestone in the development of Russia's strategic partnership with ASEAN.”

The President of Russia congratulated the Filipino people with their Independence day they celebrated on 12 June and added: “It is symbolic that we in Russia also celebrated our national holiday – the Russia Day- on 12 June. It is a very pleasant coincidence.”

This month Russia and the Philippines also celebrated 50 years of their diplomatic relations and Vladimir Putin emphasized: “It is evident that we approach this milestone with a solid foundation of mutually beneficial cooperation based on good traditions, mutual respect, and consideration of each other's legitimate interests.”

He also stated that last year the mutual trade turnover exceeded half a billion dollars US and there are opportunities for increasing the volume of supplies of both agricultural products and energy resources. Effective mechanisms for practical cooperation are in place, including the joint Russian-Philippine Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, the Russian President concluded.

In his turn Ferdinand Marcos Jr. thanked Vladimir Putin for a warm welcome.