Within the framework of the ASEAN - Russia 35th Anniversary Summit, at noon on June 18, Politburo Member, Prime Minister Le Minh Hung and ASEAN leaders attended a working lunch session chaired by Russian President Vladimir V. Putin.
With the theme "Asia-Europe Integration", leaders assess that the Asia-Europe space is emerging as one of the strategic development and connectivity centers of the world, stretching from Europe, Central Asia, Russia, the Caucasus to South Asia, East Asia and corridors connecting to the Indo-Pacific.
With a population of 3.4 billion people, 25% of global GDP, more than 15% of international trade, this region currently owns more than 50% of global oil reserves and 60% of natural gas reserves, strategic minerals, more than 1/4 of the world's agricultural land and great potential in logistics infrastructure.
On ASEAN's side, in 2025, the Association's total GDP reached 4,000 billion USD, currently the 5th largest economy in the world and is forecast to rise to 4th in the world by 2030. ASEAN is a convergence of a network of trade relations, deep intra-regional connectivity and with many important partners such as China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand... along with CPTPP, RCEP agreements...
In particular, ASEAN is currently promoting the deployment of the ASEAN Power Grid (APG) to strengthen the region's energy security. Recently, ASEAN has just completed negotiations for the ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) with the goal of reaching a digital economy scale of 2,000 billion USD by 2030 and is expected to become one of the dynamic digital economy centers in the region.
ASEAN and Russian leaders affirmed that the above favorable conditions show that Asia-Europe integration is a natural and inevitable trend of the two regions in the face of rapid and complex fluctuations in the geopolitical and geo-economic picture, breakdowns in the global economic and trade system and current supply chains. In particular, the connection between ASEAN and the Russian Far East and Central Asia has the potential to become new growth poles of the Asia-Europe space. Accordingly, the leaders of the two sides exchanged many orientations and measures to promote Asia-Europe integration.
Regarding economy and trade, countries agreed to strengthen connectivity between ASEAN and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), proposing to promote trade facilitation, customs, one-stop mechanisms, e-commerce, business connection, supporting businesses of both sides to participate more deeply in regional and inter-regional supply chains, and increase investment in processing industry, logistics and cross-border trade infrastructure.
Regarding energy, countries assess that the Asia-Europe space plays a particularly important role in global energy security, accordingly agreeing that it is necessary to promote cooperation in oil and gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG), civil nuclear power, renewable energy, energy transition...
Regarding infrastructure and transport connectivity, countries proposed to maximize the potential of strategic transport corridors connecting Asia and Europe such as the North-South international transport route (INSTC), trans-Asia and trans-Siberian railways, and the Arctic shipping route to shorten transportation time, reduce logistics costs and enhance the resilience of the regional supply chain.
