ID :
124562
Thu, 05/27/2010 - 12:25
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/124562
The shortlink copeid
Putin to visit Finland, attend EU-Russia innovation forum.
LAPPEENRANTA /Finland/, May 27 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister
Vladimir Putin will visit Finland on Thursday where he will attend the
final session of the 1st EU-Russia Innovation Forum and sign the treaty prolonging Finland's lease of the Russian part of the Saimaa Canal and adjacent territory.
The premier will also attend the presentation of the Allegro
high-speed train that will start shuttling between St.Petersburg and
Helsinink by the end of this year.
During the visit, Putin will hold talks with his Finnish colleague
Matti Vanhanen. The parties will discuss a broad range of all issues of
Russian-Finish trade and economic relations, cooperation in transport,
energy, technological innovations, the timber and agro-industrial sectors,
joint development of border and custom infrastructure and problems of
regional cooperation in northern Europe. The two prime ministers will meet
in the town of Lappeenranta, the press service of the Russian government
said.
Putin and Vanhanen are expected to sign a treaty leasing the Russian
part of the Saimaa Canal and adjacent territory to Finland. The document
replaces the 1962 lease agreement and will give a new impulse to the
transport cooperation between the two countries.
Saimaa Canal's total length is 57.3 kilometers with seaway, including
a 23.3-kilometer stretch in Finland, 19.6 kilometers on the Russian
territory leased by Finland and 14.4 kilometers on the Russian territory.
The Canal is open for inland, lake and sea-going vessels. The maximum
throughput capacity is 11,5000 vessels in both directions, with cargo
turnover at 4.6 million tons during the navigation period.
Timber and sawn timber, paper and pulp, raw materials and passenger
traffic account for a significant share of transportation via the Saimaa
Canal. The transportation by Finnish and Russian vessels by volume is
roughly the same.
Putin will attend the presentation of the Allegro fast train which
will begin regular runs en route St Petersburg - Helsinki in December 2010.
The rail link project is implemented by the Oy Karelian Trains
Russian-Finnish joint venture, set by Russian Railways and VR Group.
The Allegro train is expected to cover the distance between
St.Petersburg and Helsinki in three and a half hours. The current travel
time by rail is five and half hours.
Russian Railways plans to replace the Sibelius and Repin trains with
new equipment by 2011, which will run three times a day.
Allegro trains are designed for operation on alternating and direct
current tracks. The maximum speed is 220 kilometers per hour. The trains
will be equipped with the intercom system intended for operation both in
Finland and Russia. Each train comprises seven cars with 344 passengers
who can travel 1st and 2nd class.
The cars of both classes are equipped with adjustable seats, folding
tables, pouches for keeping newspapers and magazines, footrests, and
sockets for connecting computers or charging mobile phones.
The train has seats for disabled persons, a children's playground, and
seats for passengers with pets. Each train has a restaurant car. The
contract to supply four Allegro train built on the Pendolino standard
platform was signed in September 2007. The contract is worth 120 million
euros.
Putin and Vanhanen will participate in the final session of the first
EU-Russia Innovation forum. It is held within the framework of the
international project European-Russian innovation corridor (ERICO), whose
objective is to develop EU-Russia cooperation in the field of innovations
on the basis of the experience in cooperation between St.Petersburg and
southeastern Finland.
Finland is an important trade partner of Russia. Two-way trade made up
13 billion dollars last year (22.4 billion dollars in 2008), according to
the Russian Customs Service. Exports in the designated period reached 9.1
billion dollars and imports - 3.9 billion dollars. Trade surplus made up
5.2 billion dollars.
Russia continues to rank Finland's number one trade partner,
accounting for a 12.5-percent share. Trade turnover between Russia and
Finland in the first quarter of 2010 made up 3.9 billion dollars, up 29.8
percent from the same period in 2009. The increase occurred largely due to
a 39.5 percent growth in Russian exports, which were worth 3.13 billion
U.S. dollars versus 2.24 billion U.S. dollars in January-March 2009.
Russian-Finnish investment cooperation has been developing
dynamically. The aggregate sum of accumulated direct Finnish investments
in Russia reached over 5 billion euros in 2009. Investments are amassed in
the Northwestern (73.8 percent) and Central Federal District (22.9
percent). There are more than 2,000 firms with Russian stakes in Finland.
-0-myz
Vladimir Putin will visit Finland on Thursday where he will attend the
final session of the 1st EU-Russia Innovation Forum and sign the treaty prolonging Finland's lease of the Russian part of the Saimaa Canal and adjacent territory.
The premier will also attend the presentation of the Allegro
high-speed train that will start shuttling between St.Petersburg and
Helsinink by the end of this year.
During the visit, Putin will hold talks with his Finnish colleague
Matti Vanhanen. The parties will discuss a broad range of all issues of
Russian-Finish trade and economic relations, cooperation in transport,
energy, technological innovations, the timber and agro-industrial sectors,
joint development of border and custom infrastructure and problems of
regional cooperation in northern Europe. The two prime ministers will meet
in the town of Lappeenranta, the press service of the Russian government
said.
Putin and Vanhanen are expected to sign a treaty leasing the Russian
part of the Saimaa Canal and adjacent territory to Finland. The document
replaces the 1962 lease agreement and will give a new impulse to the
transport cooperation between the two countries.
Saimaa Canal's total length is 57.3 kilometers with seaway, including
a 23.3-kilometer stretch in Finland, 19.6 kilometers on the Russian
territory leased by Finland and 14.4 kilometers on the Russian territory.
The Canal is open for inland, lake and sea-going vessels. The maximum
throughput capacity is 11,5000 vessels in both directions, with cargo
turnover at 4.6 million tons during the navigation period.
Timber and sawn timber, paper and pulp, raw materials and passenger
traffic account for a significant share of transportation via the Saimaa
Canal. The transportation by Finnish and Russian vessels by volume is
roughly the same.
Putin will attend the presentation of the Allegro fast train which
will begin regular runs en route St Petersburg - Helsinki in December 2010.
The rail link project is implemented by the Oy Karelian Trains
Russian-Finnish joint venture, set by Russian Railways and VR Group.
The Allegro train is expected to cover the distance between
St.Petersburg and Helsinki in three and a half hours. The current travel
time by rail is five and half hours.
Russian Railways plans to replace the Sibelius and Repin trains with
new equipment by 2011, which will run three times a day.
Allegro trains are designed for operation on alternating and direct
current tracks. The maximum speed is 220 kilometers per hour. The trains
will be equipped with the intercom system intended for operation both in
Finland and Russia. Each train comprises seven cars with 344 passengers
who can travel 1st and 2nd class.
The cars of both classes are equipped with adjustable seats, folding
tables, pouches for keeping newspapers and magazines, footrests, and
sockets for connecting computers or charging mobile phones.
The train has seats for disabled persons, a children's playground, and
seats for passengers with pets. Each train has a restaurant car. The
contract to supply four Allegro train built on the Pendolino standard
platform was signed in September 2007. The contract is worth 120 million
euros.
Putin and Vanhanen will participate in the final session of the first
EU-Russia Innovation forum. It is held within the framework of the
international project European-Russian innovation corridor (ERICO), whose
objective is to develop EU-Russia cooperation in the field of innovations
on the basis of the experience in cooperation between St.Petersburg and
southeastern Finland.
Finland is an important trade partner of Russia. Two-way trade made up
13 billion dollars last year (22.4 billion dollars in 2008), according to
the Russian Customs Service. Exports in the designated period reached 9.1
billion dollars and imports - 3.9 billion dollars. Trade surplus made up
5.2 billion dollars.
Russia continues to rank Finland's number one trade partner,
accounting for a 12.5-percent share. Trade turnover between Russia and
Finland in the first quarter of 2010 made up 3.9 billion dollars, up 29.8
percent from the same period in 2009. The increase occurred largely due to
a 39.5 percent growth in Russian exports, which were worth 3.13 billion
U.S. dollars versus 2.24 billion U.S. dollars in January-March 2009.
Russian-Finnish investment cooperation has been developing
dynamically. The aggregate sum of accumulated direct Finnish investments
in Russia reached over 5 billion euros in 2009. Investments are amassed in
the Northwestern (73.8 percent) and Central Federal District (22.9
percent). There are more than 2,000 firms with Russian stakes in Finland.
-0-myz
