The 4th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which kicks off in Vladivostok on Tuesday, promises to become the most representative one in comparison with the previous events in terms of the line ups and level of delegations, TASS reported.
The forum will be held on September 11-13.
The forum’s key event, a plenary session "The Far East: Expanding the Range of Possibilities," will be attended by the heads of five states and governments: Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, China’s President Xi Jinping, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga, Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe and Prime Minister of South Korea Lee Nak-yeon.
The participants will touch upon the plans to speed up the socio-economic development of the Far East, ways to attract Russian and foreign investors to the region. The international agenda in particular includes the discussion of security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
Key topics
Earlier, Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said that at the plenary session Putin will declare the inadmissibility of using politically motivated sanctions in world trade and stress the importance of observing the principles of free trade in compliance with the norms of the World Trade Organization (WTO).
The Russia leader will touch upon large-scale plans to accelerate the socio-economic development of the Far East and encourage foreign investors to work more intensively with the Russian companies in that region. Putin will also speak about strengthening security and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Russian President is to meet with representatives of foreign businesses. That meeting will be attended by the heads of such large companies and financial institutions as Daewoo, Lotte, Mazda and Mitsui, the Chinese National Oil and Gas Corporation, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and others.
Business program
The program includes about 70 business events (panel sessions, business dialogues, business breakfasts and round tables). The forum expects about 6,000 participants from more than 60 countries. More than half of participants are from Russia. The largest foreign delegations are from China, Japan, South Korea and Mongolia.
The forum will also receive delegations from other countries of the Asia-Pacific region, as well as representatives of the United States, India, the UK and France.
Also 346 Russian and 352 foreign top managers are to attend the EEF. In particular, for the first time the forum welcomes heads of the two largest oil companies of China, which rank 3rd and 4th in the international rating of the Fortune Global 500 - Chairman of Sinopec (Chinese oil and chemical corporation) Dai Houliang, as well as the president of China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) Wang Yilin.
"Over three years, the Eastern Economic Forum has turned into an effective international communication platform. The EEF events are attended by the leaders of the states and governments of the Asia-Pacific region, the leaders of the leading international companies of Russia and other countries. Their participation ensures high results of the discussions within the EEF," Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.
Earlier the press service of Russia's Roscongress Foundation, the organizer of the forum, announced that the discussions of the business program will focus on four key areas.
The section ‘Tools to Support Investors: Next Steps’ will focus on the results and potential of such mechanisms for developing areas such as advanced special economic zones and the Free Port of Vladivostok. The discussion is expected to focus on the issues of protecting investors’ rights, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises and high-tech projects, opportunities for creating the first Russian offshore zone in the Far East and the breakthrough of the Far Eastern Federal District in the national ranking of investment attractiveness.
The section ‘Industry Priorities in the Far East’ will touch upon the topics of supporting industries that are expected to drive the region’s economic growth in the near future. Particularly, individual sessions will cover the timber industry, agriculture, fishing industry, oil and gas industry, tourism and port infrastructure, mining and refining of solid minerals, and efforts to improve legislation related to mineral exploration.
The section ‘The Global Far East: International Cooperation Projects’ will focus on prospects for economic cooperation between Russia’s Far East and neighboring countries, the importance of developing transport corridors in Russia’s Far East for the Asian Pacific region, and the creation of an International Medical Cluster in Vladivostok.
The section ‘Improving Living Conditions’ will highlight the issues of demography, healthcare, education and science, housing, culture, and urban development in the Russian Far East. Participants will also discuss opportunities for improving the region’s labor market and new measures for land development through the ‘Far Eastern Hectare’ program.
