Russian President Is To Leave For Shanghai Thursday

Russian president Vladimir Putin will leave for Shanghai Thursday to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation /APEC/ summit. The Russian president is expected in China's business capital on October 18 after 8 p.m. local time. The Russian delegation includes security council secretary Vladimir Rushailo, vice premier Ilya Klebanov, foreign minister Igor Ivanov, deputy heads of the Kremlin administration Alexander Abramov and Sergei Prikhodko. According to RIA Novosti, Vladimir Putin's agenda in Shanghai envisages both his participation in the summit's events and at least eight bilateral meetings with other countries' leaders. The Russian head of state is to start holding meetings in the morning of October 19. In particular, he will talk with the Indonesian president and the Malaysian prime minister. In the afternoon, the Russian leader will speak at the APEC Business Council conference. The latter will feature Russia's role in the Asia-Pacific region in the 21st century. In the evening of the same day, the Russian leader will meet South Korean and Mexican presidents. Saturday, October 20, will start with seeing Chinese chairman Jiang Zemin and Canadian prime minister Jean Chretien. In the afternoon, Vladimir Putin and other APEC heads of state and government will meet the Business Council conferees. On Sunday morning, the leaders of the 21 countries and territories party to the APEC will gather in the Shanghai museum of science and technologies behind closed doors and without the delegates and aides. The discussion is scheduled for approximately 3 p.m. The meeting will proceed in the same format within THE framework of a business breakfast. The evening session is to adopt a concluding declaration of the APEC summit. Later on, the head of state is to meet Japanese prime minister Junichiro Koizumi and US president George W. Bush. According a Kremlin spokesman, the meeting with George W. Bush is to fall into two stages. First, the two leaders will meet in a narrow format, and then hold a joint 30-minute press conference. Afterwards, the presidents will have an hour-long meeting at a business dinner. Vladimir Putin is expected back in Moscow early Monday morning, October 22.