Kazan (TDI): In the Russian city of Kazan, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. of the Philippines met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss bilateral relations on Wednesday, while leaders of Southeast Asian nations held a summit to further strengthen relations between Russia and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The plane carrying President Marcos left Manila on Tuesday evening, and he landed at Kazan International Airport at 7:53 a.m. local time. He had scheduled a bilateral meeting with President Putin in the afternoon and a gala dinner.
As the Philippines and Russia celebrated 50 years of bilateral engagements, the two leaders discussed about enhancing cooperation in trade, energy, agriculture, and food security.
The meeting was part of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit, emphasizing the cooperation between both countries in deepening the engagement in the face of the changing regional and global economic landscape.
Marcos, in his opening address, expressed his gratitude to Putin, the Russian government, and the Russian people for the hospitality accorded to the Philippine delegation and other leaders of Southeast Asian nations at the summit.
The meeting was also historic, considering that 2026 was the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the Philippines and Russia, Marcos added.
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As chair of ASEAN this year, Philippines advocated for substantive and forward-looking decision that enhances ASEAN’s strategic partnership with Russia and promotes peace, stability, and shared prosperity.
In that role, Marcos invited Putin to the ASEAN summit, which will take place in Manila, in the upcoming November. Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, the ASEAN Secretary-General, gave opening speeches at the ASEAN-Russia Business Forum 2026 in Kazan on the margins of the Summit.
At both the summit and the bilateral meeting between the two presidents, there was discussion of cooperation in the field of nuclear energy, oil, and natural gas.
The summit marks both ASEAN-Russia Dialogue Partnership’s 30th anniversary and ASEAN-Russia relations’ 35th anniversary.
It is one of the highest-level contacts between Russia and the ASEAN since the start of the Ukraine conflict in 2022 and is an important development in a gradually expanding relationship.
Marcos’ trip to Russia is his first visit to the country as president. In 1976, his father, the late president Ferdinand Marcos Sr., visited then-Soviet Union, which led to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Manila and Moscow.
