Russia Sakhalin region presents investment projects in Beijing

BEIJING, March 23 (Itar-Tass) - Presentation of Russia's Sakhalin
region has been successfully held in Beijing. Over 200 business people and
Chinese officials took part in it.
The Sakhalin region intends to boost business cooperation with Chinese
partners, First Deputy Governor of the Sakhalin Region Konstantin
Stroganov said at the presentation held at the Russian Embassy to China.
He said trade between the region and China amounted to one billion
dollars last year. "Joint exploration of energy resources actively
proceeds at the present moment," he added.
In particular, Stroganov noted that Russia's Rosneft and the Chinese
Sinopec petroleum corporation jointly explore the Veninskoye oil field on
the Sakhalin shelf. The company jointly participate in the Sakhalin-3
project, in which they have invested 400 million dollars.
At the present moment, 60 enterprises with participation of Chinese
capital operate on the Russian island. China exports to Sakhalin products
of iron industry and polymer materials, while the Sakhalin region supplies
China with coal and fish products, the first deputy governor said.
The Russian region favours the development of health resorts on the
Kurile Islands jointly with Chinese partners, the deputy prime minister of
the Sakhalin region, Irina Trutneva, said. "There are big possibilities
for the development of balneology resorts on the Kurile Islands, and we
are open for cooperation with China on that," she added.
Russia's Ambassador Sergei Razov said in the opening remarks at the
presentation that "the Sakhalin region is the only Russian region situated
on islands. It is renowned for major resources of oil and gas as well as
other raw materials, and also for its industrious population".
The diplomat stressed that over the recent years relations of
strategic partnership between Russia and China have been developing stably
and dynamically, and the leaders of the two countries had six bilateral
meetings alone last year.
A program of cooperation between regions of Russia's Far East and
Eastern Siberia and north-eastern provinces of China was approved in 2009.
"Inter-regional cooperation is one of the main directions in the
development of relations between Russia and China. With that in view, the
importance of the presentation of the Sakhalin region can hardly be
overestimated," Razov said. He expressed confidence that the presentation
will give an impetus to the strengthening of economic ties between the
Russian region and China.
Stroganov said that the government of the Sakhalin region would offer
maximum contribution for the development of mutually advantageous
partnership.
The Sakhalin region has brought in China 12 investment and six
trade-economic projects. Focusing on priority directions in cooperation
between the region and China, Stroganov mentioned among other projects the
construction of an open-pit mine and an ore-dressing plant in the central
part of Sakhalin, the construction of a hydropower plant, a timber
processing plant, modernisation of the Poronai port.
Wednesday is the second day of the presentation, and Sakhalin
investment projects will be discussed in detail at round-table discussions.