MONTHLY INFORMATION DIGEST

FAR EAST ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENTJanuary 2018

KEY THEMES• Vladivostok to hostInternational MaritimeDefence Show

• Funding for flights inPrimorye to increase 9%• Transport crossing
project to Sakhalin to beready in January

EASTERN ECONOMIC FORUM NEWS18 January 2018, Izvestiya

Vladivostok hotels preparing to host EEF 2018 guests
Hotels in the cities of Vladivostok and Artem are preparing to host guests of the 4th Eastern
Economic Forum, which will be held in Vladivostok on 6–7 September 2018, the press serviceof the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East reports.
A total of 25 hotels are planning to host EEF 2018 guests. Most of them have already started
preparing for hotel room capacity.A working group headed by acting Governor Andrey Tarasenko
has been set up to verify the readiness of hotel rooms.
Primorye Territory Department of Tourism Director Konstantin Shestakov noted that all thehotels that have been selected meet the requirements for accommodating forum participants.
In total, at least 1,600 rooms will be made available.
The EEF cultural and sporting programme is being constantly improved and updated. Thisyear, for example, the Forum will host a sailing regatta. Yachtsmen from different countries,
including from China and Korea, will take part in the regatta. An exhibition of sailboats will beorganized in Golden Horn Bay.
https://iz.ru/697229/2018-01-18/gostinitcy-vladivostoka-gotoviatsia-k-priemu-gostei-vef-2018
17 January 2018, RIA Novosti

Unmanned underwater vehicle competitions in Russia may become an annual event
National unmanned underwater vehicle competitions, which will be held for the first time inautumn 2018 in Vladivostok as part of the Eastern Economic Forum, may become an annual
event, said Igor Denisov, Deputy General Director and Head of the Physical and TechnicalResearch Department at the Foundation for Advanced Studies.
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The unmanned underwater vehicle competitions will be held for the first time on an allRussian scale and will set the foundation for a whole group of robotic competitions, including
ground robotics, drones as well as the most important components of modern and promisingrobotic systems.
https://ria.ru/defense_safety/20180117/1512761033.html10 January 2018, TASS

Some 200 organizations to take part in International Maritime Defence Show inPrimorye
The International Maritime Defence Show will be held for the first time in Vladivostok in July
2018. Some 200 organizations are expected to take part in the exhibition, the press serviceof the Primorye Administration reports. Acting Primorye Governor Andrey Tarasenko pointed
out that it is essential for the exhibition to present the achievements of enterprises fromthe Primorye defence industry since this will help to provide them with orders. The acting
governor gave instructions to draw up invitations for partners from China and the Republic ofKorea. He also noted that companies from the Netherlands have already expressed an interestin participating in the exhibition.
http://tass.ru/armiya-i-opk/4863597

STATE POLICY IN THE FAR EAST
22 January 2018, Sakhalinmedia.ru

Sakhalin Region among leaders in region potential rating
Experts from the Regional Policy Development Centre (RPDC) have prepared the first ‘Region
Potential Rating.’ The Far Eastern Federal District was chosen as a pilot project with the greatest
but most untapped potential. The Sakhalin Region was among the leaders in the rating.
The restoration of the Northern Sea Route as a priority objective of Russia’s transport strategy
has generated heavy interest among investors in the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District
that are within the project development zone. “Our main job is to increase the attractivenessof the Far East,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the Eastern Economic Forum 2017.
“We are dealing with the huge macroregion of the Far East as part of the forum, but what
is happening in each specific constituent entity of the Russian Federation, above all the Far
East, is equally important.” In this regard, guided by the President’s instructions, experts areresearching the problems of the Far Eastern Federal District.
http://sakhalinmedia.ru/news/663041/
19 January 2018, RIA Novosti

Russia and South Korea to discuss idea of ‘nine bridges’ cooperation
As part of Korean Investor Days in Vladivostok in March, working groups from the RussianFederation and South Korea will consider a plan for the implementation of the Nine Bridges
initiative put forward by South Korean President Moon Jae-in, the Russian Ministry of Economic
Development reports.
During the Eastern Economic Forum 2017, Moon Jae-in invited Russia to establish ‘nine bridges’of cooperation, including energy and transport. The nine bridges refer to bridges involving
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gas, railways, the Northern Sea Route, shipbuilding, the establishment of working groups,agriculture, and other types of cooperation.
https://ria.ru/economy/20180119/1512899843.html
6 January 2018, Zvezda TK

Japan intends to resume dialogue with Russia on Kurils in 2019
The Japanese authorities also intend to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the Eastern
Economic Forum in Vladivostok in September 2018. The Japanese government anticipates thatnegotiations will be the easiest way to resolve the issue of the Kuril Islands.
https://tvzvezda.ru/news/vstrane_i_mire/content/201801060109-bwdk.htm

FAR EAST ECONOMY
23 January 2018, Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East

Fixed investment growth rates in Far East outpace Russian average in 2017
This announcement was made by Deputy Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East
Alexander Krutikov during a meeting devoted to the results of work to develop the Far East in2017 and priority objectives for 2018. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Prime Minister ofthe Russian Federation and Plenipotentiary Representative of the Russian President in the Far
Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev.
Trutnev recalled an announcement made at the third Eastern Economic Forum that 86 newenterprises would open in the country’s Far East by the end of 2017 with some RUB 3.5
trillion in investments being attracted. For the year, 89 enterprises launched business in themacroregion and investments amounted to RUB 3.7 trillion. Approximately 7,500 new jobs
were created.
https://minvr.ru/press-center/news/12130/
9 January 2018, TASS

Funding for flights in Primorye to increase by 9% in 2018
Funding for domestic flights in Primorye will exceed RUB 216 million in 2018, an almost 9%
increase from 2017. Flights via routes within the region will continue to be performed by twocompanies – Aurora and Dalnerechensk Avia, the territorial administration’s press service reports.
http://tass.ru/ekonomika/4861233

NEW MECHANISMS FOR FAR EAST
DEVELOPMENT: SUCCESS STORIES
11 January 2018, TASS

Transport crossing project to Sakhalin to be ready in January
A feasibility study for the construction of a transport crossing to Sakhalin will be ready inJanuary, Russian Transport Minister Maxim Sokolov told reporters. The preliminary cost of thebridge is RUB 286 billion.
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The transport crossing is regarded as part of another larger undertaking – a land link between
the Russian Federation and Japan via Sakhalin. In this case, both countries will receive
significant benefits, for example the launch of a transport corridor that will handle more than
40 million tonnes of cargo per year, according to estimates.
Total investment in the transport crossing from the mainland to Sakhalin amounts toapproximately RUB 500 billion, Sokolov said in an interview with TASS at the EEF 2017. The
project may be implemented in the first half of the next decade, he said.
http://tass.ru/ekonomika/4867613
11 January 2018, Vostok-Media IA

Vanino ferry crossing to be rebuilt in 2019
Reconstruction work will be next year on the ferry complex on the coast of Vanino and Kholmsk.
Specialists will have to almost completely replace the design of the old ferry complexes by2020. The Soviet government decided to make a crossing between the mainland and Sakhalin
Island in 1964. The construction became a national project and in 1973 the complex was
officially launched. Since that time, only routine and structural repairs have been carried out
on the ferry complex without any major reconstruction.
Serious consideration started being given to major reconstruction following a meetingof the State Council Presidium during the third Eastern Economic Forum. Vladimir Putin
gave instructions at the time to provide him with proposals by the end of the year for thereconstruction of the infrastructure of the ports of Vanino and Kholmsk.
https://vostokmedia.com/news/society/11-01-2018/vaninskuyu-paromnuyu-perepravu-rekonstruiruyut-v-2019- godu

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