Russia seeks to boost trade with Japan - Nabiullina.

6/6 Tass 48

SAPPORO, Japan, June 6 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia seeks to boost trade
relations with Japan, Russian Minister of Economic Development Elvira
Nabiullina told Itar-Tass on Sunday after a meeting of APEC (Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation) trade ministers.
"We have rather an active trade with Japan, although it does not
satisfy the potentials of our economies," she said. "And we would like to
develop it further."
According to Nabiullina, Russia is also maintaining dynamic investment
cooperation with Japan. Japan "is represented in our economy by
investments in the energy sector, in the automotive industry. There are
projects related to industrial assembly," she said. "We have been
discussing, and, as a matter of fact, we have already decided to build a
Yokohama tire plant in the Lipetsk special economic zone."
In her words, bilateral trade was on the rise for ten consecutive
years to near a record-breaking sum of 30 billion U.S. dollars in late
2008. Driven by negative world economic trends, the trade turnover dropped
2.5-fold in 2009, but now it is recovering its pre-recession level.
-0-ras/kud