The first MOU is on cooperation in the fields of mineral exploration, development, mining and investment and will facilitate activities to support investment and trade in the minerals and metals industry. The second will foster cooperation in the geosciences. Mr. Rod Irwin, Canada's ambassador to Russia, signed on behalf of Ralph Goodale, Minister of Natural Resources Canada, along with His Excellency Boris Yatskevich, Minister of Natural Resources for the Russian Federation. Deputy Prime Minister Kulik in Ottawa in February 1999. Canada and Russia both have great natural resource endowments and these agreements will provide new avenues for cooperation between our two countries in mineral development and geoscience.
Canadian companies are already very active in the Russian mining sector.
This group consists of representatives from individual companies, industry associations and governments from both Canada and Russia, and has been actively involved in Canadian mineral investment in Russia since 1998. The MOU on cooperation in the geosciences is the result of negotiations between NRCan's Geological Survey of Canada and the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources. It will expand opportunities for Russian-Canadian geoscientific cooperation in fields such as marine geology, environmental geology and Arctic research. The MOU also provides formal links between the two ministries to enhance the earth science and technological capabilities of both Canada and Russia to advance research on issues such as climate change and the sustainable development of natural resources.