ASEAN-Russia: Union Minister Attended ASEAN-Russia High Level Meeting

The Union Minister for the Office of Union Government Lt. Gen. Yarpyae attended the ASEAN-Russia Security High Level Meeting held via video conferencing afternoon on Monday.

 Also present at the meeting were the senior officials from Russia and ASEAN member countries together with the union minister and deputy Chief of Armed Forces Training Major Gen. Myint Kyaw Tun, the commandant of National Defence University Brigadier Gen. Kyaw Shwe Tun.

At the meeting, the Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Patrushev and Acting Deputy for Foreign Policy Coordination, Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Dr. PribadiSutino of Indonesia which is a coordinator country for ASEAN-Russia Dialogue gave the opening remarks and the ASEAN member countries and Russia discussed the political and security issues and challenges in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The Union Minister Lt. Gen. Yarpyae said that Myanmar became a full membership of ASEAN in 1997, exercised the constructive engagement among the ASEAN member countries and established the mutual respective friendly relations with ASEAN dialogue partnership countries including Russia. Myanmar is a dialogue partnership country with Russia and a strategic partnership country as well.

The political and security cooperation between Myanmar and Russian Federation is being accelerated. It’s needed to have common ground on the political and security issues in the Asia-Pacific Region as the ASEAN countries and Russian Federation are located in the Asia-Pacific Region.

The cooperation between the ASEAN and Russian Federation is vital as all countries are facing the regional security issues including the maritime security, energy, terrorists’ threats, anti-narcotic drugs, anti-illegal migration etc.

Next, the union minister clarified the political developments of the country from the promulgation of state constitution (2008), 2010 free and fair general election, the political challenges occurred during the ruling party elected in 2015 general election and the current political situations in Myanmar.

The union minister pledged that the current situations in Myanmar will not affect the security issues in the ASEAN and Asia-Pacific Region as the government is tackling in line with the law with restraint. The Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Patrushev and Acting Deputy for Foreign Policy Coordination, Coordinating Ministry for Political, Legal and Security Affairs, Dr. PribadiSutino  of Indonesia which is a coordinator country for ASEAN-Russia Dialogue gave the speech of conclusion and the meeting was drawn to the end.