ASEAN Archives - RUSSIA'S PIVOT TO ASIA

Featured October 26, 2026

2026 Russia Energy Week Forum: A Wider Energy Trade Network Across Asia, Eurasia, Africa And The West: Analysis

The 2026 Russia Energy Week has just concluded in Moscow, with about 6,600 participants and executives from 85 countries attending. The event combines energy trade discussions with industrial modernisation, nuclear technology exports, engineering cooperation and investment opportunities across Asian and other international markets. We examine what happened and the deals made.

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Featured October 23, 2026

Commonwealth of Independent States Multilateral Update & Analysis: October 2026

The CIS Council of Foreign Ministers has met in Turkmenistan, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov attending. Overlooked in the mainstream media, the event introduced some strategically dynamic changes to its participation, including Iran and new concepts for Eurasian connectivity and development with wide reaching implications. This article is of primary importance to anyone involved in Eurasian affairs.

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October 19, 2026

ASEAN-Russia Trade and Investment: October 2026 Updates

Russia-ASEAN bilateral trade has increased by 10% in H1 2026, meaning the commercial agenda is now widening beyond traditional energy and commodity exchanges to include agricultural supplies, food security, fertilisers, digital services, logistics, manufacturing, technology and investment partnerships. The next stage will depend on whether businesses can turn these established trade flows into new supply contracts, distribution networks and long-term investment projects. This article explains these development dynamics and is essential reading for anyone involved in Russian and ASEAN affairs.

October 19, 2026

Russia, Timor Leste Bilateral Relations: October 2026 Update

The Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met with Bendito Freitas, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Timor-Leste, the first official visit to Russia by a Timorese foreign minister. Timor Leste became a full member of ASEAN a year ago. While bilateral trade is miniscule, the two Ministers discussed putting into place the legal and development architecture to increase this, with a target of reaching US$50 million by 2030.

October 18, 2026

Rosatom Agrees To Supply Indonesia With Two Floating Nuclear Power Plants

Russia’s Rosatom has agreed to supply Indonesia with two floating nuclear power units with a capacity of 200 MW. This is Rosatom’s first project involving the export of floating units. The parties agreed to implement the project on a commercial basis in the B2B format, using private investments rather than funds from Indonesia’s budget.

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October 15, 2026

Russia’s Digital Export Drive & Industrial Technology Strategy: The 2026 Digital Solutions Forum & 2nd Global Digital Forum: Analysis

The 2026 Digital Solutions Forum and the 2nd Global Digital Forums have taken place in Moscow with 1,300 attendees from 111 countries, creating opportunities for cooperation in artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity, telecommunications, digital infrastructure and software. 170 agreements were signed. Russia’s digital industry generated aggregate turnover exceeded US$250.5 billion in 2025, an increase of nearly 20% year on year, while the communications-services market expanded by 13% to reach US$30 billion. We deep dive the events to showcase where the digital economy in going and which countries are cooperating with Russia in its development. This article is of primary interest to anyone involved in digital economic development in the Global South.

October 13, 2026

Vietnamese Nationals Granted Visa-Free Entry Into Russia From October 15

Vietnamese nationals may enter Russia visa-free from October 15 under a new decree. About 40,000 Vietnamese visited Russia in 2025, with most going to Moscow and St.Petersburg. That number can be expected to increase during 2026 and 2027.

October 10, 2026

Sberbank Creates Direct Financial Settlement Mechanism With Myanmar

Sberbank has completed preparations for direct financial settlements with Myanmar, which will support major state contracts and commodity flows. Financial settlements for commodity exports and imports of agricultural products, fertilizers and mechanical engineering will also use the system. The development negates the use of SWIFT and the US dollar as payment tools, while a key element of the scheme is Sberbank’s Indian branch, which provides access to payments in Indian rupees and connects Myanmar companies with Russia, India and the Commonwealth of Independent States markets.

October 10, 2026

Kuibyshev Railway Sends First Wheat Exports To Vietnam By Rail

Kuibyshev Railways and the Deng Xiaoping Terminal in Russia’s Tatarstan region has sent its first container train of wheat by rail to Vietnam. The train, consisting of 76 containers with 2,000 tonnes of wheat, departed from the hub’s One Belt One Road terminal, and will finish its journey in Vladivostok. From there, the containers will be sent to Vietnam by sea.

October 10, 2026

Belarus Begins Exports To Indonesia Via Vladivostok

Belarus is shipping exports to Indonesia via Vladivostok, after the two countries were united via a Free Trade Agreement through the Eurasian Economic Union. Bilateral trade volumes are relatively small at US$220 million in 2025 but this is expected to double in the next two years.

October 7, 2026

Russia, Myanmar Trade & Investment Increasing & Diversifying

The Joint Russia-Myanmar Commission For Trade & Economic Cooperation was held in Moscow this week, with Russia and Myanmar expanding their bilateral trade and economic ties through long-term commodity agreements, joint infrastructure projects, and alternative settlement mechanisms. Bilateral trade turnover has been scaling up, with total trade values close to US$2 billion.