Meeting of the Government Commission on the Socioeconomic Development of the Far East.
Dmitry Medvedev’s opening remarks:
Meeting of the Government Commission on the Socioeconomic Development of the Far East
Good afternoon! Today we have the last meeting of our commission before the end of the year. Although there are many problems, including financial ones, we still have to make decisions in line with the tasks that we have set ourselves. This also applies to the socioeconomic development of the Far East. We’ll have a separate meeting today to discuss financial issues.
First, I’d like to say a few words about the results of the commission’s activities. Let me recall that we met in October of the past year and decided to work in this format. We have done much in some areas. We started providing disaster relief after a huge flood in the Far East and outlined priorities for the accelerated development of the Far East. Now we are talking about specific investment projects with concrete sums and deadlines. In principle, our task is to create a new model for the development of this region and achieve results.
Dmitry Medvedev: “Now we are talking about specific investment projects with concrete sums and deadlines. In principle, our task is to create a new model for the development of this region and achieve results.”
We have a concrete and intensive agenda today. As I said, there are also other issues, so I’d like you to be succinct. Let’s talk about the development prospects of the Kuril Islands. We’ll also discuss the fuel-and-energy complex in the Far East and a specific project on the Russian part of Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island on the Amur River. So we have a fairly specific agenda, and I suggest we focus on it.
There are instructions that we are implementing – the President’s and mine. All of these projects are subject to special control. Incidentally, I’d like to mention that we continue making decisions on all areas of work, including social development. I’d like to inform you that I’ve signed a Government instruction endorsing a programme for developing the National Children’s Centre “Ocean” in Primorye Territory until 2020. Every year 10,000 children from Russia and Asian-Pacific countries spend their vacations there. We plan to nearly double their number to 20,000 a year. Let me emphasise that we’ll continue resolving such tasks even despite current financial difficulties.
Now I’d like to speak about the main projects we’ll discuss today.
Meeting of the Government Commission on the Socioeconomic Development of the Far East
One of them is the formation of an international tourist recreation territory on the Russian part of the Bolshoi Ussuriysky Island. Its concept is almost ready.
We will introduce on the island the rules of economic operation that are planned for the territories of advanced social and economic development. Needless to say, this is a unique project. We can carry it out in the border area together with our Chinese partners. I must say it breaks up the usual stereotypes of business cooperation that have taken shape in our mentality. Instead of traditional mining and processing of natural resources, the project provides for the construction of facilities that are facilitating cultural exchange. The development of the tourist infrastructure should also help preserve the island’s environment. So I hope the project will be a success.
To implement it, we need to resolve a number of basic issues, including the upgrading of hydro-technical facilities.
We should also make the island accessible to tourists and entrepreneurs from China and Russia by introducing special visa and checkpoint rules (my colleagues will say a few words about it). We must prepare and adopt all relevant executive decisions.
We’ll discuss a new federal targeted programme regarding the socio-economic development of the Kurile Islands until 2025. Its chief provisions are on making them more accessible by transport, creating conditions for their sustainable economic development and upgrading their social infrastructure.
Furthermore, the Kurile Islands are frequently hit by natural disasters for obvious reasons. Thus, we should create a modern system of comprehensive security to reduce emergency risks. In principle, we’ve already launched this work. I’ve been to the Kuriles several times during the past few years and have seen substantial achievements. I hope that the programme will help us turn the Kuriles into a modern Russian territory where people will live a comfortable life and do an interesting job.
One of the announced items on our agenda concerns the Far East’s energy sector. Understandably, it requires serious modernisation. There are many macro-regional, regional and territorial projects, including energy supplies to the Baikal-Amur and Tran-Siberian railways. Experts have drafted an investment project that provides for upgrading grids and improving energy supplies not only in the Far East but also in Eastern Siberia. We’ll listen to a report on this subject.
Let’s start discussing these issues.
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