Viktor Khristenko: It Is Necessary To Step Up Cooperation Between Private Companies Of Russia And Japan

Russian Vice-Premier Viktor Khristenko has called on private companies from Russia and Japan to step up cooperation and urged Japanese businessmen to invest more funds in Russian economy without Moscow's guarantees. "We think there should be more projects envisaging credit from Japanese banks and other structures and no guarantees on the part of the Russian government," said the vice-premier at a press conference in Tokyo, which followed a session of the Russian-Japanese intergovernmental commission on trade and economic cooperation. Khristenko also stressed the importance of creating a joint Russian-Japanese mechanism responsible for attracting investment to Russia, adding that a subject-related agreement would undoubtedly be signed during Russian Premier Mikhail Kasyanov's visit to Japan in the first half of 2002. In the near future, Japanese specialists will join Russia's effort to set up a center in Vladivostok that would provide retraining for Russian servicemen transferred to the reserve.