H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, attended the Special ASEAN-Russia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) via videoconference.  During the discussion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasised the importance of sharing of best practices between ASEAN and Russia on COVID-19 treatment and collaboration on the development of vaccines and anti-viral medicines, which, once available, should become ‘global public goods’, accessible to all at an affordable price.  

 

On 17 June 2020, H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, attended the Special ASEAN-Russia Foreign Ministers’ Meeting on Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) via videoconference.  H.E. Ms. Retno Lestari Priansari Marsudi, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, as the Country Coordinator for ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Relations, co-chaired the Meeting with H.E. Mr. Sergey Lavrov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The meeting was attended by all ASEAN Foreign Ministers as well as the ASEAN Secretary-General.

 

The Meeting discussed ASEAN-Russia cooperation in tackling the spread of COVID-19, including mitigating its socio-economic impacts on our people and businesses. The Meeting emphasised the importance of utilising the existing ASEAN-led mechanisms, such as the ASEAN Centre for Military Medicine, the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus, and the East Asia Summit, to enhance regional cooperation in responding to other public health emergencies in the future. The Meeting also exchanged views on the post-COVID-19 regional architecture.

 

During the discussion, the Minister of Foreign Affairs emphasised the importance of sharing of best practices between ASEAN and Russia on COVID-19 treatment and collaboration on the development of vaccines and anti-viral medicines, which, once available, should become ‘global public goods’, accessible to all at an affordable price.  

 

This Meeting highlighted cooperation between ASEAN and Russia as Strategic Partners, especially in addressing crises that pose severe impacts at the regional level.  Russia is one of the countries with advanced development in science and technology as well as experience in research and development of medicine and medical equipment which can be shared with ASEAN.