On 3 September at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit 2023 (ABIS-2023), Ivan Polyakov, Chairman of the Russia-ASEAN Business Council, said that the platform of collective energy security offered by Russia to ASEAN partners arouses respect and great interest of all countries in the region, as it allows not in words, but in practice to implement approaches to improve energy security and practical inclusiveness.

More than 2000 business and political representatives from all over the world – from the leaders of the country to the heads of the largest transnational and regional corporations – take part in the work of the summit, the co-organising partner of which is the Russia-ASEAN Business Council.

According to the Chairman of the Business Council, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations is one of the most viable and successful regional organisations, playing a key role in creating ASEAN-centric approaches to economic development and regional security. Russia, along with the US, EU and China, is a global actor and a long-standing reliable partner of ASEAN. Russian companies are successfully implementing solutions in the region’s countries in the areas of digital technologies, urban infrastructure, education and healthcare systems.

The annual summit conference, organised by the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), places the association at the centre of global economic interconnectivity. Since its inception in 1967, ASEAN has demonstrated a strong commitment to promoting regional integration, maintaining stability and making significant strides in economic development and technological advancement.

According to the organisers of the ABIS-2023 Summit, ASEAN’s deep innovation capabilities have helped drive economic growth across the Asia-Pacific region. At present, due to the processes of transformation of the world order that have begun, the concept of ASEAN centrality has gained much traction.

The first day of the conference highlighted the urgent need for policy decisions that encourage business investment in ASEAN countries. Sustainable development, digital transformation, health, food security, trade and investment were the main themes of the first day of the summit. 

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