Russia and Japan signed more than 60 various deals in which Japan will invest over $2.5 billion during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to the country, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported citing a senior Japanese government official.
“The total value of Japan’s contribution in investment and loans, including through agreements between private sector firms, is around 300 billion yen ($2.54 billion),” the agency said, quoting Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami.
Economic cooperation agreements are based on the eight-point plan, put forward by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during his meeting with Putin in Sochi on May 6. It includes contributions from the private sector, and is intended to boost cooperation in the energy sector, small- and medium-sized business and the industrial development of the Russian Far East. It also includes provisions on cooperation in high-tech industries, including nuclear energy, and humanitarian exchange.
“In the seven months since (I) proposed the cooperation plan, we have fleshed it out at a pace like never before, with the active participation and cooperation of related businesses in both countries,” Kyodo quoted Abe as saying at the outset of his talks with Putin.
200 million euro for Yamal LNG
During the Russian president’s visit, Yamal LNG and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) signed a loan agreement for provision of a credit line for 200 mln euro. The loan is a part of the financing project totaling $19 bln, which also includes credit facilities of Russian and Chinese banks and the Russian National Wealth Fund.
Meanwhile, Russia’s Rosneft and a consortium of Japanese companies comprising Marubeni Corporation, Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) and INPEX CORPORATION have signed a Heads of Agreement in relation to cooperation on the joint exploration, development and production of the hydrocarbons at a license block in the Russian offshore.
Investment cooperation
Another notable result of the events in Tokyo was an agreement between the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) to set up a joint investment bank. The bank will invest in over 20 projects, RDIF’s CEO Kirill Dmitriyev said on Friday at the Russian-Japanese business forum in Torkyo. RDIF will hold a 49% stake in the fund against JBIC’s 51% stake, and the volume of investment will be proportionate to stakes.
The joint fund will invest in projects in the agricultural, infrastructure and other spheres.
A number of deals was signed by governments of the two states. The Russian Energy ministry and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Inddustry signed a memorandum of understanding on the development of the Elga Coil Complex in Russia’s Siberian Republic of Sakha (Yakutia).
Trade on decline
At the same time, despite efforts to boost economic relations, trade between Russia and Japan continues to decline. According to Russia’s Deputy Economic Development Minister Stanislav Voskresensky, trade turnover between the two states in the first nine months of 2016 “fell almost by 40%, to slightly above $10 billion.”
However, the Russian president said, the two states can reverse the trend.
“I admit that trade turnover between our states has been on decline. At the same time, we agreed that we can bring bilateral trade back on the track of sustainable growth, but it would require a more effective work by the governments and the business communities,” the president said at a plenary meeting of the Russian-Japanese business forum.