World meat industry news

The number of foreign trade transactions in rubles between Russia and ASEAN countries has tripled compared to 2021, to 40% of all transactions. President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin stated this during the Russia-ASEAN business dialogue at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF).

At the end of last year, 40% of foreign trade transactions between Russia and ASEAN countries were carried out in rubles, another 27% were in the currencies of friendly countries, said Sergei Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry at the Russia-ASEAN session of the WEF-2023. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an organization that includes 10 countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia. Since 2021, the number of financial transactions with the countries of the association in rubles has tripled - from 14%, said Sergei Katyrin.

According to him, ASEAN is a well-established integration association, and the association’s GDP is $3.6 trillion. At the same time, the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry admitted that Russia’s share in the foreign trade turnover of the association countries is less than one percent. But there is potential - in particular in the field of agriculture and food.

Participants in the business dialogue also discussed the challenges facing the association. The opinions of the participants were consistent with the motto of the EEF 2023 - “Towards cooperation, peace and prosperity”.

“Mainly now we need to establish air communications, as well as banking and financial services for all trade operations. In addition, sanctions create difficulties in terms of cargo insurance and services in seaports. We need to build new logistics chains, the North-South transport corridor will help with this ", says Sergei Katyrin.

He also added that it is important to establish dialogue between entrepreneurs by creating platforms for communication and developing congress and exhibition activities. Business councils have already been created with six states and are actively working, explained the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He recalled that Russia has already liberalized foreign trade with Vietnam, and soon simplified conditions will apply to Indonesia.

The digital economy is becoming increasingly important, noted Nikolai Volobuev, Deputy General Director of the Rostec Corporation. He said the Asia-Pacific region plays a key role in setting new trends

“We are implementing dozens of projects within the framework of cooperation with ASEAN, there is huge potential for joint work. New technologies can help optimize business processes, expand trade relations and strengthen economic stability,” said Nikolai Volobuev.

He also noted the importance of developing joint data security standards and creating conditions for equal access to digital resources.

The volume of bilateral trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Russia reached $15.5 billion this year, and direct foreign investment from the Russian Federation to the countries of the association reached $159 million, Myanmar Minister of Investment and Foreign Economic Relations Kan Zaw noted in his speech.

Nikita Kondratyev recalled that in 2025, key programs under the comprehensive plan of cooperation with ASEAN, both in the economic direction and more broadly, will end.

“In 2025, we will develop a full-fledged strategy for economic interaction with ASEAN countries, which will include not only the usual and general formulations, but also a list of specific investment projects, specific indicators that we will achieve every year with certain KPIs. Work on this document, which we will start in the very near future, we will definitely attract all business representatives from both the Russian side and ASEAN,” said a representative of the Ministry of Economic Development.

He also expressed hope for the rapid expansion of air traffic between the countries.