Medvedev to discuss modernization & investments with Belgian leaders

BRUSSELS, December 8 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
who's arrived in the Belgian capital to participate in the Russia-EU
summit will discuss bilateral issues with Belgian leaders on Wednesday.
The Russian president is to meet King Albert II and Belgian Prime Minister
Yves Leterme. The talks will focus on modernization and expansion of
investments.
"The forthcoming Russian-Belgian summit will give a new impetus to
developing a constructive political dialogue between our countries that is
an inseparable part of rapprochement between Russia and the European Union
and of the process of building trust, cooperation and security in Europe,"
Russian presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko told journalists.
"Belgium is Russia's long-standing and reliable partner. In
January-September, bilateral trade grew by 42.5% compared with the same
period in 2009 and reached 5.9 billion dollars. Russian exports went up by
1.5 times and amounted to 3.7 billion dollars while imports increased by
almost a third to reach 2.2 billion dollars," Prikhodko went on to say.
He said there had been numerous examples of bilateral cooperation that
show that Belgian investors have long-term goals in Russia and point to
sectional and regional diversity of these investments.
"Despite the global economic crisis, practically all of the 250
Belgian companies that operated in Russia have stayed in the Russian
market," Prikhodko stressed.
The Kremlin source told Itar-Tass that the sides were not expected to
discuss bilateral facilitation of the visa regime with Belgium. "A
political consensus is needed for that just like in case of France,
Germany and Italy. We didn't plan to discuss the facilitation of the visa
regime with Belgium as a separate issue. Russian officials in NATO and the
EU don't face any visa problems. Belgium is not in the list of countries
that introduce additional visa procedures," Prikhodko explained.
Belgium maintains cooperation with several Russian regions: the Nizhny
Novgorod region, the Moscow region, the Leningrad region, the Krasnodar
territory, the Republic of Tatarstan and the city of St. Petersburg.
"A mixed commission for economic cooperation between Russia and
Belgian-Luxembourg Economic Union is an effective instrument that
coordinates the development of bilateral economic ties," the Kremlin
source went on to say.
"The forthcoming Russian-Belgian talks in Brussels will focus on the
most promising areas of Russian-Belgian cooperation in modernization and
development of trade, economic and investment ties," Prikhodko emphasized.
"The sides are expected to consider additional possibilities for
implementing joint projects in hi-tech and energy, finances, investments
and the banking sector as well as for developing regional and cultural
cooperation," Prikhodko said.
"During high-level talks the sides will also synchronize watches on a
number of global and regional issues in the light of the Russia-EU summit
that was held in Brussels on December 7," Prikhodko stressed.

. Russian, Belarusian PMs to hold working meeting.

MOSCOW, December 8 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
on Tuesday had a telephone conversation with his Belarusian opposite
number Sergei Sidrosky, Dmitry Peskov, the Russian government press
secretary, said.
"Putin and Sidorsky agreed to hold a working meeting in Moscow on
Wednesday to continue coordinating positions on the Common Economic
Space," Peskov told journalists.

. Monument to Boris Yeltsin to be unveiled in Yekaterinburg.

YEKATERINBURG, the Urals, December 8 (Itar-Tass) - A monument to Boris
Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, will be unveiled in Yekaterinburg
on February 1, 2011 to commemorate the 80th anniversary of his birth.
The monument's author is Architect Georgy Frangelyan.
"The main concept of the monument is kept secret. Let it be a
surprise," said Vadim Naumenko, deputy executive director of the
Presidential centre named after Boris Yeltsin.
In May 2008, the Russian State Duma endorsed a law on setting up
centres of former presidents of Russia. In September 2009, the governor of
the Sverdlovsk region signed a decree "On the Presidential Centre of Boris
Yeltsin". Naumenko said the centre would open in Yekaterinburg in 2011.
At first, it will occupy various buildings. Then, it will move to a
business centre "Demidov" when it's construction is over.
In 2008, the Urals State Technical University (now the Urals Federal
University) in Yekaterinburg was named after Boris Yeltsin. A Street in
the city centre also bears Yeltsin's name.

-0-fil/