ID :
163990
Fri, 02/25/2011 - 12:41
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/163990
The shortlink copeid
Moscow-Seoul new development prog agreement reached.
SEOUL, February 25 (Itar-Tass) - Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin who is
in Seoul on a visit met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the
Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) - the Republic of Korea official presidential
residence on Friday. Sergei Sobyanin congratulated the South Korean
president on the third anniversary of his taking office and said that Lee
Myung-bak, when he was mayor of the South Korean capital, "contributed
greatly to the development and strengthening of cooperative relations
between the two capitals." Moscow mayor also said that this cooperation
would continue in the future.
Sergei Sobyanin said in this connection that at a meeting with Seoul
mayor Oh Se-hoon on Thursday the sides reached an agreement to work out a
new programme for the development of the two capitals, which "will be
signed shortly."
During a meeting with ROK President the Moscow mayor stressed that the
two countries' capitals face common challenges for the big cities, among
which he named the high population and development density. Sergei
Sobyanin expressed his admiration by the way Lee Myung-bak, when he headed
the South Korean capital, managed to solve some important problems Seoul
is facing.
Speaking of the purposes of the Moscow government delegation's visit
to the South Korean capital, Sobyanin said that one of the main goals is
to get familiar with the experience in dealing with urban problems
accumulated by the Seoul government.
In response, the ROK President stressed the need to continue the
fruitful cooperation between Moscow and Seoul. Lee also noted that during
last year's trip to Russia he held meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss further possibilities of
economic cooperation between the two countries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, South Korea and Russia
established diplomatic ties in 1991. Russian president Vladimir Putin
visited Seoul in February 2001, while South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun
visited Moscow in September 2004. South Korea and Russia are participants
in the Six-party talks on the North Korea's nuclear proliferation issue.
South Korea and Russia are working together on construction of a
bilateral industrial complex in the Nakhodka Free Economic Area in Russia'
s Far East and gas-fields development in Irkutsk. The two sides also
agreed to cooperate on reconnecting a planned inter-Korean railroad with
the Trans-Siberian Railroad (TSR). Russia has expressed interest in
becoming a conduit for South Korean exports to Europe, which now go by
ship, by linking the Korean railroad to the TSR. Russia reportedly offered
to repay its $1.7 billion debt to South Korea through joint investments in
North Korea, such as the railroad project.
According to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, the trade between Russia
and the ROK has considerable potential for further advancing development.
In 2008 it has increased by 22.4 percent reaching US$ 18,4 billion. The
investment cooperation has become much more intense as well. During the
first quarter of 2009, the total volume of South Korean investments into
the Russian economy reached US$ 1257.2 billion, including US$ 731.3
billion of direct investments. Bilateral trade activities have been
noticeably reduced under the influence of world global crisis and
deterioration of world economic trends. During first six month of 2009 the
trade volume has declined by 52 percent. Although it is worth to mark that
the reducing of trade activities has been slowed down by the end of the
year. However it is the trend, not the absolute numbers that is important.
Scheduled joint investment projects, first of all, in energy,
petrochemical, automobile industry etc. will allow to increase
significantly mutual trade. In spite of a considerable part of raw
materials in Russian export goods one should not take Russia as just a raw
materials' supplier for the ROK's market. For example, more than sixty
percent of all civilian helicopters used in the ROK were made in Russia.
More than a third of nuclear fuel used at the ROK's atomic power plants
comes also from Russia. Quite a number of commercial contracts on joint
scientific research and design as well as on production of Russian
licensed high-tech goods in the ROK are under negotiation. Mutually
beneficial cooperation is continuing in the sphere of peaceful space
exploration. The similarity or proximity of the approaches by Russia and
the ROK to the key international issues, including building an equitable
multipolar world order under the central role of the UN, non-acceptance of
diktat in inter-state relations, non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and protection of global energy security, set a good basis for
interaction of the two states in the UN and at other international forums.
-0-ezh/ast
in Seoul on a visit met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak at the
Cheong Wa Dae (Blue House) - the Republic of Korea official presidential
residence on Friday. Sergei Sobyanin congratulated the South Korean
president on the third anniversary of his taking office and said that Lee
Myung-bak, when he was mayor of the South Korean capital, "contributed
greatly to the development and strengthening of cooperative relations
between the two capitals." Moscow mayor also said that this cooperation
would continue in the future.
Sergei Sobyanin said in this connection that at a meeting with Seoul
mayor Oh Se-hoon on Thursday the sides reached an agreement to work out a
new programme for the development of the two capitals, which "will be
signed shortly."
During a meeting with ROK President the Moscow mayor stressed that the
two countries' capitals face common challenges for the big cities, among
which he named the high population and development density. Sergei
Sobyanin expressed his admiration by the way Lee Myung-bak, when he headed
the South Korean capital, managed to solve some important problems Seoul
is facing.
Speaking of the purposes of the Moscow government delegation's visit
to the South Korean capital, Sobyanin said that one of the main goals is
to get familiar with the experience in dealing with urban problems
accumulated by the Seoul government.
In response, the ROK President stressed the need to continue the
fruitful cooperation between Moscow and Seoul. Lee also noted that during
last year's trip to Russia he held meetings with President Dmitry Medvedev
and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to discuss further possibilities of
economic cooperation between the two countries.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, South Korea and Russia
established diplomatic ties in 1991. Russian president Vladimir Putin
visited Seoul in February 2001, while South Korean president Roh Moo-hyun
visited Moscow in September 2004. South Korea and Russia are participants
in the Six-party talks on the North Korea's nuclear proliferation issue.
South Korea and Russia are working together on construction of a
bilateral industrial complex in the Nakhodka Free Economic Area in Russia'
s Far East and gas-fields development in Irkutsk. The two sides also
agreed to cooperate on reconnecting a planned inter-Korean railroad with
the Trans-Siberian Railroad (TSR). Russia has expressed interest in
becoming a conduit for South Korean exports to Europe, which now go by
ship, by linking the Korean railroad to the TSR. Russia reportedly offered
to repay its $1.7 billion debt to South Korea through joint investments in
North Korea, such as the railroad project.
According to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, the trade between Russia
and the ROK has considerable potential for further advancing development.
In 2008 it has increased by 22.4 percent reaching US$ 18,4 billion. The
investment cooperation has become much more intense as well. During the
first quarter of 2009, the total volume of South Korean investments into
the Russian economy reached US$ 1257.2 billion, including US$ 731.3
billion of direct investments. Bilateral trade activities have been
noticeably reduced under the influence of world global crisis and
deterioration of world economic trends. During first six month of 2009 the
trade volume has declined by 52 percent. Although it is worth to mark that
the reducing of trade activities has been slowed down by the end of the
year. However it is the trend, not the absolute numbers that is important.
Scheduled joint investment projects, first of all, in energy,
petrochemical, automobile industry etc. will allow to increase
significantly mutual trade. In spite of a considerable part of raw
materials in Russian export goods one should not take Russia as just a raw
materials' supplier for the ROK's market. For example, more than sixty
percent of all civilian helicopters used in the ROK were made in Russia.
More than a third of nuclear fuel used at the ROK's atomic power plants
comes also from Russia. Quite a number of commercial contracts on joint
scientific research and design as well as on production of Russian
licensed high-tech goods in the ROK are under negotiation. Mutually
beneficial cooperation is continuing in the sphere of peaceful space
exploration. The similarity or proximity of the approaches by Russia and
the ROK to the key international issues, including building an equitable
multipolar world order under the central role of the UN, non-acceptance of
diktat in inter-state relations, non-proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and protection of global energy security, set a good basis for
interaction of the two states in the UN and at other international forums.
-0-ezh/ast
