Canada to allocated 500 thousand dollars for aid to Kyrgyzstan.

OTTAVA, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Canada will allocated 500,000 dollars
for the aid to the victims of the ethnic clashes in Kyrgyzstan, Canada's
Minister of International Cooperation Bev Oda said on Saturday.
The money will be forwarded to the International Red Cross Committee
and "will be used for humanitarian aid for those who had to leave their
houses over the conflict in southern Kyrgyzstan," he said.


.Igor Moiseyev ensemble starts a tour in DPRK.

PYONGYANG, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia's Igor Moiseyev State
Academic Folk Dance Ensemble starts a tour in the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea.
The ensemble brought a miracle-working icon to present to the Holy
Trinity Orthodox church in Pyongyang. The ceremony is due on Sunday.
Earlier, the ensemble came to the DPRK several times, and the leader
of the country, Kim Jong Il, appreciated the performances, that has always
been a success there.


.China presents cooperation projects in Turkmenistan.

ASHGABAT, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- About 40 companies from China
presented their cooperation projects at a business forum in Turkmenistan
on Saturday in the framework of the visit of China's delegation headed by
Politburo Standing Committee member He Gotsyan.
Presently, China's capital participates in Turkmenistan's 37
enterprises working on 57 investment projects worth over 4,163 million
dollars and over 2,328 million yuans.
Oil and gas sector is a priority sector of the Turkmenistan-China
cooperation. The two countries outlined trends for future cooperation in
tourism, telecommunications, transport infrastructures and construction.
On Friday, the Chinese delegation visited the Avaza tourist zone which
is being constructed at the Caspian Sea and saw the luxurious hotels and
leisure centres which are already built there. He Gotsyan suggested
developing contacts between the Caspian resort and China's Hainan
Province, a major tourist attraction.
China's National Petroleum Corporation is Turkmenistan's only foreign
partner, which got a right to develop the gas deposit on-shore there. The
gas produced at the Bagtyyarlyk field is transported via the
Turkmenistan-Uzbekistan-Kazakhstan-China pipeline, which went operational
in December 2009.


.Int'l Economic Forum proves world economy's weather improvement.

ST. PETERSBURG, June 20 (Itar-Tass) -- The St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum has reflected positive trends in the world
economies and finances, most participants said.
At the closure of the three-day discussions, Russia's President Dmitry
Medvedev said that back in crisis 2009 it rained for as long as the forum
lasted, but in 2010 it was more comfortable to work both as far as the
weather and the economy are concerned.
"I can remember gloomy faces last year, it was very cold, and the
atmosphere was depressing," he said. "I remember, when I started my
speech, I said: the weather in St. Petersburg reflects our mood."
"Today it is not hot, I mean we are not over-heated, but it is already
warm and comfortable," Medvedev said. "I hope we shall keep this
atmosphere through the year and will be able to overcome all the
difficulties that still remain."
The participants in the forum took part in discussions organised in
traditional format of plenary sessions and panels and enjoyed advantage of
new formats - briefings with questions from the audience and the so-called
sector breakfasts. Modernisation of the world's and Russia's economies and
Innovative thinking in business and politics were the key topics
throughout the discussions. The forum featured four business dialogues and
over 15 panel discussions on energy, agriculture, state debt management,
defence cooperation, space programmes, pension reforms, secondary
education, renewal of investments in Africa, cooperation of the BRIC
member-countries, development of medicine and even film-making.
The contracts signed over the forum are worth over five billion euros.
The hostess of the forum, St. Petersburg's Governor Valentina Matviyenko,
called this year's forum "fruitful" for the city. St. Petersburg's
contracts in infrastructures, modernisation of industrial enterprises and
on a new pharmaceutical cluster are worth 50 billion roubles.
Four thousand delegates represented 700 companies from about a hundred
countries.
Though the forum is over, the discussions will continue - the
presidents of Russia and the United States, Dmitry Medvedev and Barack
Obama, will discuss further development of cooperation in high
technologies over the visit of Russia's leader to the U.S.A.
"It is clear that the five priorities for modernisation should be
followed in our international economic relations with foreign
counterparts," Medvedev said over the forum.
The US side is interested in cooperation in high technologies, too.
They "suggest calling Medvedev's upcoming visit the Innovations Summit,"
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

-0-kar