00:00Mr. President, Your Majesty, Excellences, Distinguished Guests, Good Morning.
00:05It is my honor to serve as co-chair of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit alongside President Putin
00:13as we mark 35 years of a partnership built on mutual respect, shared interests, and a steady conviction
00:21that cooperation, not confrontation, is the surest path to peace.
00:26I wish to express our deep appreciation to the government and people of the Russian Federation
00:31for their generous hospitality and for the excellent arrangements that have brought us together here in Kazan,
00:38a city where civilizations have long met, mingled, and enriched one another.
00:43It is a fitting venue for a gathering that is itself an exercise in bridging distances, both geographic and cultural.
00:51Thirty-five years ago, Russia's participation in the ASEAN-Ministerial Meeting in Kuala Lumpur
00:58planted the first seeds of what has grown into a strategic partnership of genuine consequence.
01:05The principles that guided those early steps, mutual respect, sovereign equality,
01:10and the commitment to peaceful cooperation and shrine in the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation,
01:16remain as relevant today as they were then.
01:19Again, they are not merely historical anchors, they are active guides for the work still before us.
01:26As we mark this milestone, the Philippines would like to highlight three priorities
01:32that should animate our cooperation in the years ahead.
01:36First, peace, security, and stability.
01:40In an era of deepening geopolitical uncertainty, the value of steady political and security engagement
01:47between ASEAN and Russia cannot be overstated.
01:51Transnational threats such as terrorism, illicit trafficking, cybercrime, and online scams
01:57do not respect borders, and neither can our responses.
02:01We must strengthen practical cooperation on maritime security and counter-terrorism,
02:08reinforce our collective resilience in cyberspace,
02:11and develop the institutional habits of anticipation rather than mere reaction.
02:18Second, a more dynamic economic partnership.
02:22Our trade and investment ties have grown, but they have yet to reach full potential.
02:28We must be more deliberate and more ambitious in expanding economic opportunities,
02:33improving trade facilitation, deepening investment flows, and connecting our business communities.
02:40Food and energy security deserve a particular attention,
02:44as these are the foundations on which broader stability rests.
02:48Our economic cooperation must also be inclusive.
02:52Our micro, small, and medium enterprises must have a place in this partnership,
02:57and our cooperation must extend into the emerging sectors that will shape tomorrow's global economy.
03:05And third, perhaps the most and most enduring, is our people.
03:10Scholarships, student exchanges, academic partnerships, tourism, and the arts,
03:16these are not peripheral to our relationship.
03:18They are at its living core.
03:21The connections forged between our peoples outlast any summit declaration
03:25and carry our partnership forward in ways that policy alone cannot do.
03:31We must continue to invest in these bonds,
03:34placing our youth not merely at the receiving end of this cooperation,
03:38but at its center, as the generation that will ultimately decide what Asia-Russia relations will become.
03:47Your Majesty, Excellencies, Colleagues,
03:51guided by our chairship theme, navigating our future together,
03:56the Philippines approaches this summit not just as a ceremony of commemoration,
04:01but as a renewed call to action.
04:03Thirty-five years is a foundation.
04:07What we build on it is our choice and our responsibility.
04:12Let us choose well.
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