The head of the Ministry of Economic Development leads the Russian delegation, which on Monday and Tuesday participated in the Russia-ASEAN ministerial meeting on economic issues and the meeting of economic ministers of the countries of the East Asian Summit (EAC), which were held in Bangkok.

"According to 2018 data, the trade turnover between Russia and ASEAN amounted to $ 19.8 billion, an increase of 7% compared to the previous year," Oreshkin told reporters.

“Since the beginning of this year, for its first half, the volume of trade amounted to $ 8.6 billion. Growth has slowed, but this is a consequence of the general global situation in world trade and a decrease in energy prices in the first half of 2019," he added.

The Minister noted that, despite the presence of growth, Russia’s trade and economic relations with ASEAN countries still have significant unrealized potential.

“It is important to understand where we are from the point of view of relations with ASEAN countries. Yes, our turnover is growing well, but, in comparison with the market that exists, with the opportunities that the ASEAN market has, we, of course, together with "We’re not working with our colleagues. This was the main issue at our meetings in Bangkok: what needs to be done in order to unleash this potential," he said.

Oreshkin said that the discussion at the meetings with the ministers of the partner countries was primarily about those key areas where Russia has competence that may be useful to ASEAN countries.

RIA News / www.ria.ru