November
8, 2017
21:00
The 25th anniversary
APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will take place in Danang very soon,
on November 10 and 11.
We
greatly value the APEC forum for the ample opportunities it
affords all participants to engage in discussions and coordinate
positions on a variety of economic, social, environmental,
and cultural issues. Our countries strive to cooperate based
on the principles of consensus and voluntary participation,
mutual respect and willingness to compromise, regardless
of the political situation. This is what APEC’s unique spirit
of partnership is all about.
As a major
Eurasian power with vast Far Eastern territories that boast significant
potential, Russia has a stake in the successful future
of the Asia-Pacific region, and in promoting sustainable
and comprehensive growth throughout its entire territory. We believe that
effective economic integration based on the principles
of openness, mutual benefit and the universal rules
of the World Trade Organisation is the primary means
of achieving this goal.
We
support the idea of forming an Asia-Pacific free trade area. We
believe this is in our practical interest and represents
an opportunity to strengthen our positions in the rapidly
growing APR markets. I want to note that over the past five
years, the share of APEC economies in Russia's foreign trade has
increased from 23 to 31 percent, and from 17 to 24 percent
in exports. And we have no intention of stopping there.
Of course,
the large-scale project to create the APEC free trade area
should be carried out with due account of the experience gained from
implementing key integration formats in the Asia-Pacific region and Eurasia,
including the Eurasian Economic Union, in which Russia cooperates
with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Our union has been
developing dynamically, and we are eager to build relations with all
countries and associations that are interested in doing so. Vietnam,
the host of this year’s Forum, was the first state to sign
a free trade agreement with the EAEU. As a result, our
trade grew significantly and became more diversified. Talks on a trade
and economic cooperation agreement with China concluded a short while
ago. Talks with Singapore have begun, and we are working
on the possibility of signing a free trade agreement with
ASEAN.
On a related
note, I would like to mention our idea to create
the Greater Eurasian Partnership. We suggested forming it
on the basis of the Eurasian Economic Union
and China’s Belt and Road initiative. To reiterate, this is
a flexible modern project open to other participants.
Comprehensive
development of infrastructure, including transport, telecommunications
and energy, will serve as the basis for effective
integration. Today Russia is actively modernising its sea and air ports
in the Russian Far East, developing transcontinental rail routes,
and building new gas and oil pipelines. We are committed
to implementing bilateral and multilateral infrastructure projects
which will link our economies and markets. Among other projects, I am
referring to the Energy Super Ring that unites Russia, China, Japan,
and the Republic of Korea, and the Sakhalin-Hokkaido
transport link.
We
pay special attention to integrating Russia’s Siberian and Far
Eastern territories into the network of APR economic ties. These
efforts include a whole range of measures to enhance
the investment appeal of our regions, and to integrate
Russian enterprises into international production chains.
For Russia,
the development of our Far East is a national priority
for the 21st century. We are talking about creating
territories of advanced economic growth in that region, pursuing
large-scale development of natural resources, and supporting advanced
high-tech industries, as well as investing in human capital,
education and healthcare, and forming competitive research centres.
We
hope that our foreign partners, primarily from APEC economies, will play
an active role in implementing these programmes and projects.
All the more so, as foreign participants of the annual
Eastern Economic Forum held in Vladivostok already had a chance
to gain confidence in the prospects and feasibility
of our plans.
We
have an equally serious approach to involving small
and medium-sized businesses in APEC economic integration processes,
and supporting female entrepreneurship and start-up companies run
by young entrepreneurs. Of course, we attach special importance
to strengthening our cultural ties and expanding our contacts
in the sphere of science and education. Looking ahead, we
will focus on forming a common APR education space, one of whose
centres could be the Far Eastern Federal University.
We
believe that establishing effective cooperation to support innovation is
the most important task we face in this dynamic era. As such,
Russia has put forward a number of specific initiatives. These include
unifying digital economy and trade rules, harmonising national technical
standards, coordinating strategies for forming high-tech markets,
and creating a uniform conceptual framework for the digital
space. We have also shared with our partners our experience in providing
e-services to the public. In addition, we suggest starting
consultations within APEC on international information security
and protection of computer software.
Preventing
and providing relief following natural disasters and man-made accidents,
epidemics and pandemics is another challenge that requires a joint
response by all APR partners. Of course, we need to tackle food
security issues together and think about how to meet
the region's rapidly growing demand for high-quality and healthy
food. Russia is one of the world’s leaders in exports
of grain, vegetable oils, fish, and a number of other
foods. We expect to become the leading supplier of ecologically
clean food to our neighbours in the Asia-Pacific region.
To do so, we are taking measures to increase agricultural output
and improve productivity.
We
intend to engage in substantive discussions of all these topics
during the upcoming summit in Danang. I am confident that,
acting together, we will find acceptable solutions to the challenge
of supporting the steady, balanced, and harmonious growth
of our shared region, and securing its prosperity. Russia is ready
for such a collaborative effort.
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