Window to Asia

The XVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum was held with an Asian accent. Russian President Vladimir Putin came to the forum almost immediately from China, which means, under the impression of our achievements in the PRC. During the visit, 50 agreements and a gas supply contract totaling $ 400 billion were signed. 

According to V.Putin at the forum, for all the time of his work as president, he has not yet signed such a large number of documents rich in content. In the nearest plans of Russia and China to deploy the largest construction in the world. It is planned to create an infrastructure for the supply of gas, to build a gas chemical plant. All this will be an incentive for the development of the mining, metallurgical and pipe industries. The implementation of such ambitious plans will require the creation of thousands of high-tech jobs and attracting investment.

At the forum, Vladimir Putin met with Vice President of the People's Republic of China Li Yuanchao. The Russian President stressed that his visit to China to participate in the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) was a complete success. Li Yuanchao, for his part, said that the successful meeting of the leaders of China and Russia in Shanghai has given new impetus to the in-depth development of comprehensive relations of strategic cooperation and partnership between the two countries.

“We came here precisely to support our Russian colleagues in holding the forum,” he concluded.

As the Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Alexei Likhachev commented on the situation, plans to enter the Chinese market are quite a predictable turn. In recent years, Russia has been aiming at this, as evidenced by the growth of investments and trade between the countries. However, a qualitative breakthrough occurred during the president's visit. “A new horizon has opened for deeper investment and technological cooperation,” he said. And this trend applies not only to China. Russia today is interested in cooperation with Japan, and now a business mission is being prepared to this country. There are intentions in terms of interaction with Korea and Mongolia. By the way, as Likhachev noted, with the latter the potential has been used by a quarter. “The priorities of Russia from the point of view of interests are energy, technological partnership, transit potential, the creation of another level of preferential trade,” he explained.

A significant event was the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Ministry of the Russian Federation on the development of the Far East and the Government of St. Petersburg. As the city’s governor Georgy Poltavchenko noted, “the regions of the Far East occupy an important geopolitical position and have significant industrial potential.”

“There are a number of issues that require special attention and modernization - energy, the introduction of innovative and energy-saving technologies, such socially significant areas as health care, education, culture. In all these areas, St. Petersburg has tremendous experience that we are ready to share, ”he said.

In particular, the governor noted that relations with the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) are actively developing near the northern capital. The post-representative of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) under the President of the Russian Federation, Alexey Struchkov, who was present at the signing of the document, expressed the opinion that the memorandum could provide substantial assistance in the arrival of Western investors to the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Far East.

"The experience of colleagues from St. Petersburg in this area can be widely claimed in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), including during the construction of the Yakut oncology dispensary," A. Struckov believes.

The forum has already passed negotiations with the Yakut leaders with the chairman of the health committee of St. Petersburg Valery Kolabutin on the exchange of experience in the implementation of the infrastructure project "Yakutsk oncological dispensary for 210 beds in Yakutsk with a radiological unit at 60 beds."

Petersburg companies also showed interest in the FEFD regions. Thus, it is planned to cooperate with the Avangard plant specializing in electronics, the Giprostroymost company, which designed the bridge across the Golden Horn Bay. “Many St. Petersburg companies are interested in supplying their products to Asia. In the Far East, sites can be created for their placement, ”Maxim Meixin, head of the Committee on Industrial Policy and Innovations of St. Petersburg, confirmed to EastRussia.ru.

Private companies are ready to independently attract professionals to the Far East. "We are thinking about how to preserve the human resource and bring this potential to the Far East. We have some thoughts in terms of managing human resources. And we are ready to give these proposals to the Ministry of Development of the Far East, "said the general director of Rosstroyinvest, Fyodor Turkin.

In order to adhere to the eastern course, it is necessary to begin directly with the development strategy of the Far East itself. Yes, the potential of the Far Eastern Federal District is huge, but, as A.Galushka noted, “today we have in this region underdeveloped infrastructure, lack of human resources and high administrative barriers. Even the adopted program on the development of the territories of advanced development (TOR) demanded improvements, since, at the same time as the preferences for business, obstacles were created for it ”.

The analysis of the state programs showed that in the socio-economic terms this region was underfunded in a number of areas. “We come to the Amur region and see that there is not one indoor skating rink and one pool for the whole region. In Primorsky Krai, we see that the wear and tear of the hospital amounts to 80%, and the region is taking out a loan for its repair. Under the program "Culture" the region receives zero rubles. Do not people need theaters and museums there? ”, Said A. Galushka.

The Ministry has developed a Federal program for the development of the Far East. She has already arrived for discussion in the Government of the Russian Federation. Recently, a bill was also sent, making its own adjustments to the development of advanced development territories. The proposed business development conditions may indeed be of interest to many companies. An attractive tax policy was developed first. According to the document, in the first five years the tax on land, income and real estate should be 0%. The company needs to be given time to gain a foothold and grow, and only then force them to pay taxes, the authors of the bill say. It is also supposed to restart the Development Fund for the Far East, which deals with the preparation and implementation of investment projects. Starting investments amount to 70 billion rubles.