ON JUNE 15, 2010, the ASEAN Center at MGIMO (U) of the Russian Foreign Ministry was opened. A solemn ceremony on this occasion was held in the new university building. It was attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, MGIMO Rector A.V. Torkunov, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General S. Sisuwong, a group of senior officials representing the foreign policy departments of the Association's member States, ASEAN ambassadors in Moscow, representatives of the Russian scientific and expert community, MGIMO students and teachers.

The Center was established in accordance with the agreements set out in the Memorandum of Understanding signed by ASEAN Secretary General Surin Pitsuwan and MGIMO Rector A.V. Torkunov. Consent-

According to this document, the Center will promote the dissemination of information on the Russia - ASEAN dialogue partnership, exchanges in the field of science, culture and education, as well as humanitarian contacts between Russia and the Association's member countries, and conduct and promote scientific research on the problems of ASEAN and its member countries. Doctor of Historical Sciences V. V. Sumsky, a graduate of MGIMO, a specialist in the problems of modern history and modern development of Southeast Asian countries, who previously worked at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and research institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, was appointed Director of the ASEAN Center in coordination with its Executive Board and with the approval of the ASEAN Secretariat in Jakarta.

Opening the ceremony, A.V. Torkunov stressed that MGIMO has been training Russian specialists in South-East Asian countries for many years. Today, university graduates who speak the languages of the countries of the region form the basis of the staff of Russian diplomatic missions in Southeast Asia. At the same time, almost 500 citizens of the ASEAN member countries - Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Indonesia - have acquired a profession and learned Russian at MGIMO. Today, many of them hold high positions of ministers, deputy ministers, ambassadors, and heads of international structures. Among the honorary doctors of MGIMO are such prominent dey-

teli as Sultan of Brunei Hassan al-Bolkiah, Lee Kuan Yew, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, Fidel Ramos, Megawati Sukarnoputri. The university's growing ties with Southeast Asian countries are the foundation on which MGIMO will build the ASEAN Center.

The creation of the Center corresponds to the general logic of partnership between Russia and the Association, Sergey Lavrov said, addressing the audience. Within the framework of the cooperation and security architecture emerging in the Asia-Pacific region, ASEAN is a system-forming element. Cooperation with the Association is one of the priorities of Russia's Asian policy, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects that the ASEAN Center will contribute to information and analytical support of this cooperation.

Pham Quang Vinh, Deputy Foreign Minister of Vietnam, stressed that Russia has become an important dialogue partner of ASEAN. He expressed confidence that the Center will help the progressive development of relations between Russia and the Association at the stage when the parties are preparing for their second summit and the 15th anniversary of the dialogue partnership.

Welcoming the establishment of the Center, the founder of the ASEAN Bar Association and the oldest senator of the Philippines, Edgardo Angara, thanked the diplomats involved in the promotion and implementation of this initiative. He called for making the most of it for the further development of Russian-Asean cooperation.

Confirming that the Association's Secretariat is ready to provide the necessary assistance to the Center, ASEAN Deputy Secretary General Sayakan Sisuwong wished success to the new MGIMO division.

The traditional ritual of cutting the red ribbon at the entrance to the premises of the ASEAN Center was performed by Sergey Lavrov and Sergey Sisuwong.

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