FIRST MEETING OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF EASTERN ECONOMIC FORUM: 90 DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING

6 June 2015

FIRST MEETING OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF EASTERN ECONOMIC FORUM: 90 DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING

The members of the Organizing Committee discussed preparation for and holding the Eastern Economic Forum. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev. Among those who attended the Organizing Committee session were the Minister for Development of the Russian Far East Aleksandr Galushka, heads of federal executive authorities, heads of regional administrations in the Far Eastern Federal District and leaders of public organizations and businesses. As Mr. Trutnev noted, the Forum will focus mainly on the new stage of development in the Far East. ‘We see the Forum not as a separate event or talks with investors or diplomatic negotiations, but as one of the areas of our common work on the development of a macro region.’ Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East Maksim Shereikin presented ideas on the Forum architecture. It was noticed that the Forum program has not been finalized and the organizers are open to proposals from state authorities, Far East regions and businesses. Yury Trutnev pointed out that the Forum is open to suggestions from business structures. ‘They have complete carte blanche in giving their own vision of the Forum’s format. We also asked them to invite their business partners to take part in the Forum and discuss various projects. We have things to fill the Forum with and to tell our guests and Russian business,’ he said. According to Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Development of the Russian Far East Maksim Shereikin, the Forum will contribute to the appearance of the Russian Far East on the ‘investment maps’ of major Russian and international companies, as well as to fixing the ‘Eastern direction’ of the Russian economy. ‘Investors are expected to take as many projects from the Forum as possible to turn them into real money for Far East regions. The Forum will show how competitive the Far East is and how correct we are in our actions on its development,’ concluded the Deputy Minister. The objectives of the Forum can be nominally put into four blocks: ‘selling the Far East’s potential; strategic target at investor attraction; awareness-raising; assisting new personal contacts. The Forum will have presentation sessions for invited investment projects, business dialog, public interactive discussions, exhibitions of offers for investors and informal ‘open collar’ meetings. ‘All the formats are connected with the projects and their implementation in the Far East, or with associated areas important for launching and organizing the projects,’ added the Deputy Minister of the Ministry for Development of the Far East. At the meeting Yury Trutnev also highlighted the huge work that has been done over the past year in the macro region. ‘It is important to tell investors about new work prospects in the Far East,’ said the Deputy Prime Minister. Among the main innovations Mr. Trutnev mentioned the fast-track development territories network and support for big investment projects. The creation of the Free Port of Vladivostok was separately mentioned by Mr. Trutnev, who recalled that the draft law has been approved by the Government and will be sent to the State Duma for consideration. In his opinion, the new economic zone could start functioning even before the Forum opens and it could be presented to investors at Eastern Economic Forum. ‘Eastern Economic Forum is a forum of solutions. We expect that the key issues that form the economic development of the Far East will be formulated, worked on and submitted to the country’s leaders to make decisions. The aim of these decisions is to stimulate investment inflow,’ he concluded.

FIRST MEETING OF THE ORGANIZING COMMITTEE OF EASTERN ECONOMIC FORUM: 90 DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING

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