| Azlan Othman |

RUSSIA sees Brunei as its important partner in the Asia-Pacific region, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Sergey Lavrov said.

“We appreciate Brunei’s even-handed attitude to promoting collective approaches towards solving any arising problems. We are interested in the continuation of the political dialogue, including at the top level, being accompanied by a buildup in trade, economic, and cultural cooperation as well as in military and military-technical ties,” Lavrov said.

He made these comments during a press conference following a meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs II Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Erywan bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Haji Mohd Yusof.

Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Erywan paid a working visit to Russia for talks with Minister Lavrov from May 23-25.

As the key priorities in Brunei-Russia relations, the Russian minister highlighted further promotion of bilateral interaction in the fields of trade, economy and investment.

“We agreed to realise good opportunities for investing more efforts in energy sector, agriculture, production and marketing of Halal products and to encourage direct contacts between our business communities,” he said.

The Russian minister reaffir-med the intention to further enhance mutual cooperation to counter terrorism, illicit drug-trafficking, transnational crime as well as other challenges to international and national security.

Speaking about the discussion of issues of global agenda, Lavrov emphasised that Moscow and Bandar Seri Begawan have similar or very close approaches to them.

“We proceeded from the unquestionable necessity for each and every state to respect international law, above all, norms and principles of the United Nations Charter,” he stressed.

Minister Lavrov expressed satisfaction over the transformation of Russia-ASEAN ties into strategic partnership at the third ASEAN-Russia summit last year and commended Brunei Darussalam for the constructive role it played in ensuring such a high level of cooperation and mutual trust between Russia and ASEAN.

The talks between the two ministers also focussed on the state and prospects of further development of Brunei-Russia ties with the emphasis on the implementation of the agreements reached during the meetings of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin on the margins of the ASEAN-Russia Summit in Sochi in May 2016 and the APEC Summit in Lima in November 2016.

The two ministers also discussed important issues of the regional and global agenda.