Junichiro Koizumi, Prime-Minister of Japan, to Visit Russia in January 2003

Junichiro Koizumi, Prime-Minister of Japan will visit Russia in January 2003. According to Russia's government's Department of Information, such was the announcement, Vuktor Khristenco, a Deputy Prime Minister of Russia made at the opening of the sixth session of the Russian-Japanese intergovernmental commission on economy and trade.

Mr. Khristenko said, 'Russia attaches great importance to the development of her relations with Japan. The positive impulse these relations received during the latest summits must be supported'. The Deputy Prime-Minister who is the co-chairman of the commission from Russia also emphasised that 'We consider the sessions of this highly authoritative intergovernmental commission as an important chance to voice the most urgent issues concerning cooperation between our two countries, which include the problems of energy, environmental protection, transportation, and tourism'.

Supposedly, these issues will be also discussed during the visit to Russia of Japanese Prime-Minister. Mr. Khristenko named the development of trade and economic connections among priority areas as concerned the bilateral relationship. He also said that the progress of the development of trade cooperation between Russia and Japan was fully in line with the joint Russian-Japanese strategy of trade and economic cooperation adopted two years ago.

In the meantime, while receiving in the Kremlin Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi, Foreign Minister of Japan, President Vladimir Putin said, 'Russia and Japan should be more active furthering their economic cooperation. Acording to President's press service, Mr. Putin expressed his regret that the level of economic cooperation between the two countries remained insufficiently high and had even dropped by 11% in 2001. President also said that a document to become the basis of long-term economic cooperation between Russia and Japan would be prepared for the visit to Moscow in January 2003 of Junichiro Koizumi, Prime-Minister of Japan.

Mr. Putin pointed out that contacts between Russia and Japan were continuing at the highest level. Such was the meeting between the leaders of the two countries during the Big 8 summit in Kananaskis in June this year. Quite recently, the heads of state of Russia and Japan talked over telephone twice.