The Philippines and Russia are looking to expand their cooperation in energy, agriculture, and trade following talks between President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Kazan on Wednesday (early Thursday in Manila).

During their meeting, Putin said bilateral trade exceeded $500 million last year and pointed to opportunities to increase supplies of agricultural products and energy resources.

“Of course, this is far from the limit,” Putin said, adding that there remained significant potential for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Putin also highlighted the role of the Joint Russia-Philippine Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, an intergovernmental mechanism established in 2015 to expand bilateral trade, investments, and economic partnerships, particularly in energy, food security, and business cooperation.

In response, Marcos said the current level of trade remained below its potential and expressed interest in expanding cooperation in energy and food security.

“There are many potential areas that I think we should still open to explore,” Marcos said.

The President noted that discussions during the commission’s meeting in Moscow in September 2025 identified energy and food security as priority areas for cooperation. 

B2B engagements

Business-to-business engagements also allowed Philippine and Russian firms to establish networks and explore joint ventures.

Several memoranda of understanding were signed covering innovation, retail products, cosmetics, food processing, and industrial collaboration.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, the Philippines exports coconuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, rubber tires, and processed fruits and nuts to Russia. Imports from Russia include pork, semiconductors and vaccines.

Marcos also expressed hope for continued political consultations between the Philippines and Russia and personally invited Putin to attend the East Asia Summit in Manila in November.

As chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit this year, Marcos said the summit remains an important platform for promoting regional stability, security and prosperity.

Meanwhile, Philippine Ambassador to Russia Igor Bailen said authorities are awaiting developments from Philippine aviation regulators on proposals to resume direct flights linking Russian cities with Manila and Cebu.

Russian tourists

Bailen said Russian carrier S7 Siberian Airlines has applied to resume flights from Irkutsk, Vladivostok and Khabarovsk to the Philippines. He added that airline IrAero already operates charter flights from Irkutsk and Khabarovsk to Kalibo.

The ambassador said expanded air connectivity could boost tourist arrivals from Russia, whose travelers continue to show interest in destinations such as Boracay and El Nido.

He added that tourism remains an important component of economic relations between the two countries, alongside trade in energy, food and other commodities.