Russian-Japanese Talks Took Place in Khabarovsk

KHABAROVSK. May 14. VOSTOK-MEDIA – The 3^rd Russian-Japanese Dialogue titled “New Prerequisites and Economical Conditions of Energy Cooperation in the Northeast Asia” took place in Khabarovsk.

The Russian side was represented at the conference by Russian Energy Agency, Gazprom, RAO Energosistemy Vostoka, Siberian Coal Energy Company (SUEK), as well as researchers at various scientific institutes.

The Japanese delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Natural Resources and Energy Agency, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corp (JOGMEC), Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia (ERINA), as well as other research organizations and major energy and trade companies.

During the opening ceremony, Khabarovsk Governor Vyacheslav Shport welcomed the perticipants in the conference. The Governor stated that the theme of the conference is quite natural since the coperation in the energy sphere is the core component of Russian-Japanese trade and economic relations. The major portion of Japanese investments focused in this area.

Vyacheslav Shport said that time has come to think about the new areas in the energy cooperation between the two countries.

“It is generally known that Russia has made a plunge towards renovation of its economy, while Japan has been following this path for many years. In this regard it’s high time to seek new areas of common interest,” the Governor said.

Energy efficiency may well become such an area of common interest, according to Vyacheslav Shport. The area is tremendous in scope and very promising for both countries as the alternative energy and power engineering industries have gained much momentum in the past decade. In addition, the development of technologies of power transfer and enhancement of energy consumption will contribute to it.

After the plenary session, the participans in theconference held three panel discussions concerning Russian-Japanese cooperation in the sphere of natural gas, coal and energy.

As a result of the talks a joint declaration was signed, a spokesman for Khabarovsk Krai Administration reported.