Intergovernmental Commission to Discuss in Moscow Trade and Economic Cooperation Between Russia and Japan

On Monday, Moscow will host the 6th session of the Russian-Japanese economic and trade intergovernmental commission. Its co-chairmen are Russian Vice-Premier Viktor Khristenko and Japanese Foreign Minister Joriko Kawaguchi.

As RIA Novosti learned from the secretariat source of the Russian Vice-Premier, the session will focus on trade, investment and financial cooperation between the two countries. The sides will also discuss cooperation in energy, ecology, science and technology, in transport and tourism.

"It is necessary to define a broader scope of the international labor division in the Far East and the support that the governments must provide to business circles to foster their interest in cooperation," Moscow believes.

The agenda of the session envisages the discussion of issues of fishery and forestry, Russia-Japan cooperation in the fight against illegal exports of seafood and deforestation. The sides will also touch upon cooperation in nuclear energy and contribution to the nuclear disarmament process.

The commission will discuss cooperation between regions and measures to implement initiatives of the business circles of both countries.

As Alexander Yakovenko, an official spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said, Russia and Japan need new frameworks of trade and economic cooperation that will meet modern political and economic realities.

Moscow believes that it is necessary to work out effective measures to foster trade, improve investment climate and promote specific projects, including the idea of constructing a Sakhalin-Hokkaido pipeline.

The commission will also look at the trade tendencies of the past few years. As Moscow believes, "it is necessary to pool efforts of both countries to bring their economic ties in line with their potentials." As RIA Novosti learned from a source at the Russian Ministry of Economic Trade and Development, Russia mainly exports to Japan non-ferrous and precious metals, seafood, timber and mineral fuel. Japanese imports consist largely of machinery, i.e. vehicles, electrical appliances, and means of communications.

The fuel and energy complex is becoming a strategic area of Russia-Japan economic trade. The most promising directions are the implementation of the Sakhalin oil projects /Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2/.

Following the commission session a final memorandum is expected to be signed.