Komi Delegation to Visit Canada to Assess Potential for Cooperation

On February 1 a governmental delegation from the Komi Republic will set off on a week's visit to Canada in preparation for the international conference National Resources for the Future: Joint Projects in Komi. The press office of the Komi leader announced that Head of the Republic Vladimir Torlopov and Canadian representatives of government and business will meet to discuss potential areas of cooperation between the two countries.

The press office added that a forum will take place in Syktyvkar in June 2003 which will be the key stage in the Russian-Canadian four-year project How the potential of natural resources in the Komi Republic could provide stable growth. This project is being organised by Canadian company Jacques Whitford Environment Limited, the Komi ministry for natural resources and protection of the environment and the Komi Science Centre with support from Canadian international development agency CIDA.

During their visit the delegation is expected to meet with representatives of Jacques Whitford, the Canadian foreign ministry and CIDA. The delegation will give an overall presentation of the natural resources potential of the region and discuss possible forms of collaboration with Canada. There will also be a speech about the future cooperation between the republic and Jacques Whitford and CIDA>.

This project is the second CIDA project in the Komi Republic. The first project, entitled The complex management of natural resources of the Izhma river basin, Komi and Russia, was carried out between 1996 and 1999. Jacques Whitford has been a project in both projects.