Russia and Pakistan have commenced discussions concerning a Pakistan-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement. Pakistan has an economy worth over US$2 trillion and a consumer market of over 250 million people. Moscow see Pakistan as a promising partner in the region with significant potential for growth.
Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has met with the Ambassadors of all the 57 Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) members, stressing the need for further cooperation and trade development. The OIC has a combined population of about 25% of the entire world’s people.
Sri Lanka has begun purchasing oil from Russia after supplies from its normal Middle East suppliers were disrupted a month ago. The price of fuel has rocketed and shortages have been affecting many aspects of local life and services. The first shipments are due to arrive at the end of this month.
Russia has stepped up diplomatic and energy supply chain developments this past month with visits to India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, while Pakistan and Afghanistan, both bordering Iran, are also developing as key links in new emerging South Asian oil and gas infrastructure and architecture. We examine what is happening in a region that Russia is almost right in the centre of as regards energy security and future supplies.
Two senior Russian officials have released a joint analysis concerning Russia’s views of ASEAN, its relations with BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Eurasian Economic Union and its role in defining the emerging new world order. It is essential geopolitical strategic reading for anyone interested in Southeast Asia and its relations with Russia, and the developing multipolar world.
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Russia’s Transmashholdings, the countries largest manufacturer of railway locomotives and carriages, is eying the Vietnamese market as several Vietnamese city projects are being put into practice including new underground Metro and regular overland rail services.
Iran has stated it will only allow ships from Russia, China, India, Pakistan and Iraq through the Strait of Hormuz. We look at the wider implications as the conflict spreads beyond military force and is now being impacted by anti-conflict Western financiers with specific implications for Europe, Asia and the United States. Western politicians are no longer being supported by their own backers.
The Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko has stated that Russia will not export oil to any countries imposing a price cap. This affects all the G7 nations including the European Union, who have imposed price caps at US$45 a barrel for Russian fuel oil. However, volatility created by the conflict in Iran has seen prices fluctuate between US$75 to above US$100 a barrel while Russia has shifted its energy export priorities to markets in Asia. JP Morgan analysts suggest the price could reach US$150 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened soon.
Russia is discussing energy supplies with Sri Lanka, as the country looks to diversify away from an over-reliance on Middle Eastern import supply chains, to alternative suppliers and developing its renewables sector. Sri Lanka has introduced restrictions on energy use in recent weeks due to problems with imports due from Iran.
Russia’s Novatek is to supply LNG to Vietnam with initial deliveries of 1 million tonnes. The two sides are also looking at collaborating in numerous other energy fields as Asian supply chains add alternatives to relying wholly on Middle East resources.
Russia’s FESCO Transport Group is emerging as an significant Asian regional multimodal carrier as it begins servicing intra-Asian and not just Russian trade. As an example, the group recently shipped Vietnamese vehicles to Kazakhstan.
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