Russia interested in closer trade, investment ties in APEC-Nabiullina.

6/6 Tass 46

SAPPORO, Japan, June 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia is interested in active
development of trade and investment relations in the Asia Pacific region,
Russian Minister of Economic Development Elvira Nabiullina told Itar-Tass
on Sunday after a meeting of APEC (Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation)
trade ministers.
"We discussed both issues, which are traditionally on the agenda of
such meetings, and, of course, problems of post-recession development
facing each country," she said. "We discussed issues of the development of
trade within the region, regional economic integration and issues of
future growth strategy, what it should be based on."
"We also touched upon the problem of protectionism. This subject is
currently of concern for everyone who is faced with the task to quadrate
international trade development with the development of domestic economies
and creating new jobs," she noted.
According to Nabiullina, these subjects are "obviously interesting and
important because the Asia Pacific region is dynamically developing and
the APEC countries are showing higher growth rates than countries, which
are not APEC members."
"This organization unites countries accounting for more than a half of
the world's gross domestic product, and Russia is obviously interested to
increase its presence here, to develop trade and investment relations more
actively," she stressed.
The APEC meeting of ministers responsible for trade, which ended here
on Sunday, has opened a series of ministerial meetings of APEC member
countries in view of a forthcoming APEC summit to be held in Yokohama,
Japan on November 13 through 14.
-0-ras/kud