6 September 2019
On 6
September, Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Government of the Russian
Federation –
Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District,
attended the grand opening of the Second Russian-Korean Forum of Interregional
Cooperation. The event was held on the sidelines of the 5th Eastern
Economic Forum in Vladivostok.
Opening the Forum, Yury
Trutnev read out a welcoming address by Russian President Vladimir Putin to the
participants and guests of the Second Russian-Korean Forum of Interregional
Cooperation in which he noted that “It is symbolic that this meeting is being held during
the Eastern Economic Forum. This undoubtedly testifies to the growing role of
the regions in the development of Russian-Korean relations and mutually
beneficial cooperation. Your chosen topic for this year – The Path to New
Opportunities – is
of particular importance at this time.
It reflects a mutual
desire to assimilate new and promising models of interregional cooperation,
including in respect of priority development areas. This Forum brought together
representatives of seven provinces and cities of the Republic of Korea and
eleven constituent entities of the Russian Federation, including all
territories of the Russian Far East, which currently account for more than 40
percent of trade with Korea and which offer fantastic potential to implement joint
projects in areas such as shipbuilding, fishing, tourism, and Arctic
exploration.”
“In a few days, on 24
September, we, together with the Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea
Hong Nam-Ki, will hold a meeting of the Russian-Korean Joint Commission on
Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation. The proposals developed at
today's Forum will be discussed at the meeting of the intergovernmental
commission,” said
Yuri Trutnev.
The
welcoming speech from the leadership of the Republic of Korea was read by the
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Lee Tae-Ho.
The
event was attended by the heads of the Far Eastern regions and Korean provinces
and representatives of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East
and Arctic.
The Republic of Korea
has long been one of Russia’s main economic partners in the Asia-Pacific region.
Trade between the countries increased by 26% in 2018, reaching USD 25 billion,
and a third of this trade is with the Far Eastern regions. In the first half of
2019, trade between the Far Eastern Federal District and the Republic of Korea
increased by 54% and reached USD 5.7 billion.
The Third Russian-Korean