400 Projects of Cooperation Between the Adjoining Territories of Russia and Finland

As many as 400 projects have been carried out within the bounds of cooperation of the adjoining territories of Russia and Finland, and work on 200 other projects is under way, RIA Novosti was told by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation Vladimir Chizhov who headed the Russian delegation at the 10th, jubilee meeting of the Group for the Development of Cooperation between the Adjoining Territories which finished in the capital of Finland on Wednesday.

Among the most significant projects Vladimir Chizhov mentioned the construction of purification facilities in St. Petersburg, the projects of stable forest utilisation, and projects on the protection of the Baltic Sea basin.

According to the deputy minister of foreign affairs of Russia, unique experience of mutually advantageous partnership has been accumulated within the framework of cooperation over the past few years.

For his part, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland Antti Satuli said at a press conference that the accumulated Russian-Finnish experience of cooperation between the adjoining territories can be successfully used in Russia's cooperation with the Baltic countries after their entry into the EU.

The 11th meeting of the Group for the Development of the Adjoining Territories of Russia and Finland will be held in Petrozavodsk in the first half of 2004.