KAZAN, Russia — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday told Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that Russia sees "good potential" to "enhance [its] supply of agriculture and energy resources" with the Philippines, underscoring that there is a big room for the two countries to grow their bilateral trade.
As of 2024, Russia's bilateral trade with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was pegged at $18.13 billion, according to data from the ASEAN Secretariat.
But while the Philippines and Russia have forged diplomatic ties for 5 decades, their bilateral trade remained modest at less than $1 billion, according to data from the Russian government.
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"Last year, our bilateral trade exceeded 0.5 billion dollars," Putin told Marcos during their first bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-Russia Commemorative Summit here.
"Of course, this is far from the limit and of course there is a good potential to enhance supply of agriculture and energy resources," he said.
"Today, we have a good opportunity, Mr. President, to evaluate the current state of the Russia-Philippines cooperation," the Russian leader said.
Marcos agreed with Putin, saying that the Philippines is looking to forge closer energy and food security deals with Eurasia's largest economy.
"The present level of trade, although it is steady, I think there is a great deal more than we can do," Marcos said.
"There are many potential areas that I think we should and are still open to explore," he said, noting that his administration "would like to continue to explore" possible agreements on food and energy.
Earlier this year, the Philippines procured 1.5 million barrels of oil from Russia after the US issued a 30-day waiver for countries to procure Russian petroleum products after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz where 20 percent of the world's oil supply passes through.
In previous years, Russia has also pitched a floating nuclear power plant for the Philippines, but the deal has never been finalized.
Meanwhile, Russians are also looking to mount more flights to the Philippines, Philppine Ambassador to Russia Igor Bailen said in an earlier interview.
"This year, naghihintay lang tayo ng development mula sa Civil Aeronautics Board of the Philippines dahil nag-apply ang S7 Siberian Airlines to be able to fly again from Siberia… to Manila and Cebu," the diplomat said.
"There is the Russian market to be tapped. They are interested and they have the resources," he said.
"Compared to other countries, ang Russians per capita, mas malaki silang gumastos in terms of tourism so yan po ay dinidevelop pa natin," he added.
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There were 2.1 million Russians who visited ASEAN countries, while only 54,000 ASEAN tourists traveled to Russia in the first 3 quarters of 2025, according to data from the regional bloc's secretariat.
However, over half of these Russian tourists opted to travel to Phuket in Thailand and Bali in Indonesia, Bailen said.
Putin said that he approaches the "present threshold with an immense capital of mutual beneficial cooperation underpinned by respect for legitimate interests of each other."
"We all remember the visit by your father, President Ferdinand Marcos, in Moscow in 1976," the Russian President said.
"It is noteworthy that then, amid the Cold War, it required the political will from the Philippine leadership, such a well-balanced and pragmatic approach to international affairs is of course of high demand today," he added.
Marcos, on the other hand, told Putin that he hopes for the Philippines and Russia "to continue our regular conduct of political consultations between our foreign ministries."