Diamond plant in Smolensk plans to increase production.

MOSCOW, September 26 (Itar-Tass) - A diamond plant in Smolensk,
western Russia, plans to increase the sales of diamonds by 50% in 2010 and
earn more than 300 million dollars worth of revenues.
Maxim Shkadov, the general director of the Smolensk-based "Krystal"
enterprise, says that China and India were the world's biggest developing
diamond markets. "India has a retail market and its diamond consumption is
growing. India prefers buying diamonds of high quality," Shkadov said at a
recent "Junwex-2010" jewelry show held in Moscow.
"This year we've managed to reach a pre-crisis level and I think
that we will start increasing our diamond production in 2011. The market
demand for diamonds is growing. If there's a possibility to buy rough
diamonds and if the government decides to increase the sales of rough
diamonds from the State Fund of Precious Metals and Precious Stones, then
prospects of increasing the output will turn real," Shkadov went on to say.
Shkadov said the market situation was favorable for "Krystal".
"There's a stable demand for our diamonds. It's growing so fast that
we cannot always meet this demand in full measure. The trend is going to
persist in the near future," he added.
The "Krystal" plant in Smolensk is one of Russia's leading diamond
producers. The State Federal Property Agency holds a 100% stake in the
company. The plant is on the Russian list of strategic facilities and is
under direct control of the Russian president. The company's design
capacity is one million carats of cut diamonds a year. In 2009, "Krystal"
produced more than 200 million dollars worth of diamonds and sold
approximately half of the produce to the State Fund of Precious Metals and
Precious Stones.

.Russia to use int'l cooperation for modernization-Medvedev.

MOSCOW, September 26 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
said in an interview with the Renmin Ribao newspaper that Russia would use
its opportunities of international cooperation for modernization of its
economy.
"Russia sees its tasks in contributing to positive evolution of world
affairs, on the one hand, and using opportunities that are opening up for
the country's modernization, on the other hand," Medvedev said ahead of
his forthcoming visit to China that starts on Sunday.
"We are ready to build cooperation with everybody who shows reciprocal
interest. Today, it's particularly important for us to use more
effectively external sources for developing new technologies and advancing
Russian hi-tech products to external markets," the Russian head of state
said.
"For that, we need intensive joint work with partners in the West and
in the East. I have no doubt that my current visit to China will open new
horizons for such interaction," Medvedev added.
The president also confirmed that the basic principles of Russian
foreign policy remained unchanged. "This is pragmatism, openness,
renunciation of confrontation in advancing our national interests as well
as many vectors of Russian diplomacy," Medvedev clarified.
"We are convinced that pre-occupation with one foreign policy
direction to the detriment of others doesn't lead to positive results,"
the Russian president said. "A balance is needed among various vectors of
international relations."
Medvedev recalled that relations with the CIS countries, the European
Union, the United States, our partners in the Asia-Pacific region,
including China, were the priorities of Russian foreign policy and were
valuable for Russia each in its own way.
"The same is true of multilateral diplomacy in formats like the United
Nations Security Council, the G-20, the BRIC and the SCO where we actively
cooperate with China in the interests of regional and global stability,
security and prosperity," he emphasized.
At the same time, Medvedev noted that Russia's foreign policy was
changing. "The world community is becoming more active and coordinated in
fighting common challenges and threats, the underlying principles of a new
harmonious system of global management based on international law are
being laid down," Medvedev said.

. Russian museum's virtual subsidiary to open in Beijing.

BEIJING, September 26 (Itar-Tass) - The Russian Centre of
International Scientific and Cultural Cooperation under the Russian
Foreign Ministry and the State Russian Museum will sign an agreement on
Sunday for the creation of the museum's virtual subsidiary in the Chinese
capital.
From now on, Beijing residents will be able to use multimedia programs
to 'enter' the Mikhailovsky Palace, see pictures hanging on its walls,
have a look at sculptures and listen to a guide's explanations in Russian
and Chinese.
The State Russian Museum has subsidiaries abroad. But in China, which
has the world's largest population, it's going to work closely with the
Russian Cultural Centre.
The Russian Museum was the first state museum of Russian fine arts. It
was founded in St. Petersburg in 1895 by decree of Emperor Nicolas II.

-0-fil/


Delete & Prev | Delete & Next