10th Meeting of the Japan-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Issues (Overview)
November 20, 2012
Japanese
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On November 20, the 10th Meeting of the Japan-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Issues was held at Iikura Guesthouse for approximately two and a half hours from 5 p.m. Subsequently, a signing ceremony, a joint press conference, and a dinner were held.
On the Japanese side, the meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and was attended by officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). On the Russian side, the meeting was co-chaired by Mr. Igor Ivanovich Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, and was attended by the Minister of Healthcare, and vice ministers from the Ministry of Economic Development, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Energy and others, as well as governors of the Russian Far East, which made the meeting higher level than ever before. An overview of the meeting is as follows.
As a result of the meeting, Minister Gemba and First Deputy Prime Minister Shuvalov signed a memorandum.
Significance
(1) Constructive and concrete discussion was held concerning cooperation in the Far East/Siberia region, as well as the fields of energy, energy saving, medical care, modernization and innovation, transport, and agriculture, and measures for the improvement of trade and investment climate.
(2) It was determined that a “Japan-Russia Urban Environment Working Group” would be set up as a new field of cooperation to discuss various issues concerning urban environment and infrastructure, jointly with both the public and private sectors. Moreover, both parties shared the view that they would set up a working group for the improvement of trade and investment climate in Russia.
Cooperation in the Russian Far East/Siberia region
Both sides welcomed the realization of a series of projects between Japan and Russia on the occasion of the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting and shared the view that they would proceed with further cooperation in the Far East/Siberia region.
Cooperation in major fields
(1) Energy and energy saving
Concerning energy cooperation, Minister Gemba pointed out that it was important to advance projects with price competitiveness and in a timely manner, and expressed interest of Japanese companies to participate in the Sakhalin III project. Moreover, both sides shared the view that they would advance the Vladivostok LNG project and joint mining search in East Siberia. The Russian side expressed interest in the possibility of exporting electricity by laying undersea cables.Concerning the field of energy saving, both parties exchanged views on projects for which there was the possibility of cooperation between Japan and Russia.
(2) Medical care
The Russian side expressed strong expectations toward cooperation in the field of radiation medicine. Both sides welcomed the operation of a pharmaceutical production plant by a Japanese enterprise in Russia and shared the view that they would continue to cooperate toward the spread of Japan’s advanced medical devices throughout Russia.
(3) Urban environments
Both sides shared the view that they would set up a “Japan-Russia Urban Environment Working Group” for the purpose of improving urban and business environment in Russia. It is planned that in this working group, people from both the public and private sectors of Japan and Russia will discuss various issues concerning urban environment and infrastructure in Russia, utilizing the expertise of Japan, which has overcome various problems including pollution that occurred along with rapid economic growth.
(4) Modernization and innovation
Both sides highly appreciated the results of previous meetings of the Japan-Russia Advisory Council on Modernization of the Russian Economy, and confirmed that concrete projects for modernization will continue to be forwarded on the basis of the principle of mutual benefit. The Russian side expressed interest in the possibility of Japanese enterprises cooperating with RUSNANO and the possibility of investment cooperation from the Japanese side for the Russian Direct Investment Fund.
(5) Automobile industry and transport
Both sides welcomed the advancement of the Japanese automobile industry into Russia in recent years. Minister Gemba raised the issue related to the vehicle utilization tax that Russia had introduced. He also stated that it was important for Russia to resolve the issues of a shortage of freight cars on the Siberian Railway and the need to improve port and harbor facilities in Russia.
(6) Agriculture
Both sides confirmed that cooperation in the field of agriculture was beneficial from the viewpoints of both the improvement of agricultural productivity in Russia and food security in Japan, and that both sides would cooperate for the realization of projects by the private sector concerning agricultural technology and cultivation in the Russian Far East.
Improvement of trade and investment climate
Both sides shared the view that the improvement of Russia’s trade and investment climate is crucial for the advancement of Japanese companies into Russia and that both sides would make efforts toward its improvement. From this viewpoint, both parties shared the view that they would set up a working group to discuss institutional problems that Japanese companies face in Russia.
- (* The foregoing is a provisional translation. The date indicated above denotes the date of issue of the original press release in Japanese.)
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