Some 83 billion rubles ($1.215 billion) are expected to be invested in more than 30 hi-tech projects in five years within the framework of the Russia-Japanese platform for attracting investments in the Far East, Russia's Far East Development Fund CEO Alexei Chekunkov has said.
VLADIVOSTOK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th September, 2018) Some 83 billion rubles ($1.215 billion) are expected to be invested in more than 30 hi-tech projects in five years within the framework of the Russia-Japanese platform for attracting investments in the Far East, Russia's Far East Development Fund CEO Alexei Chekunkov has said.
In February, the Far East Development Fund together with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) and Russia's Far East Investment and Export Agency established a joint investment platform, which is expected to become a link between Japanese investors and Russian investment opportunities. Agreements on implementation of the first four projects within the platform were signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in May.
"The platform's business plan has been elaborated by the Japanese side, and it is very ambitious - they are planning to allocate 83 billion rubles in 'smart' investments in 35 projects over five years. Now the platform has 10 projects. I personally believe in this model, because it has already proven its success in other countries - India and Myanmar," Chekunkov said in an interview with the EEF-2018 magazine, prepared by the Roscongress Foundation.
According to the official, Russia was not planning to create such platforms with other countries.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe stressed that cooperation in Russia's Far East was one of main aspects of the bilateral cooperation plan.
"Partnership in the Far East is one of the main points of the cooperation plan that I have proposed. Japan also continues to conduct joint activities in the area of the Russian Far East development," Abe said in his greeting to the participants of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), released in the same magazine.
The prime minister vowed that concrete work would be carried out within the efforts to develop the Russian city of Vladivostok, as stipulated in the agreement signed by Russia's National Institute for Housing Development Foundation and Japan's Nikken Sekkei Ltd architecture firm.
"At the end of last year, the concept of development of Vladivostok, proposed by the Japanese design company, was combined with Vladivostok's master plan, concrete work will be carried out in the future," Abe said.
When speaking about cooperation in the Far East, Abe mentioned the Japanese Hokuto rehabilitation center, which opened in Vladivostok in May.
"The Hokuto rehabilitation center that opened in May received 462 patients in June, which is a limit of its current capacity, and showed the high level of Japanese rehabilitation technologies," Abe stressed.
Russian-Japanese relations have been on the rise especially after a range of meetings between Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin. In May 2016, Abe proposed to Putin an eight-point cooperation plan with a focus on economic projects. The plan, in particular, seeks to promote bilateral cooperation through successfully combining Russia's economic and social needs with Japan's expertise.
The fourth EEF will be held on September 11-13 in Russia's Far East. The main event of the forum will be the plenary session "The Russian Far East: Creating a New Reality" with Putin's participation.
