Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok© TASS/Yuri Smityuk
Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok© TASS/Yuri Smityuk

 

Education and environmental problems will feature high on the agenda of Russia’s first Eastern Economic Forum alongside economic issues, organisers say.

The programme of the three-day forum, which is scheduled to take place in Russia’s eastern coastal city of Vladivostok from September 3 to 5, includes a conference devoted to integration of education systems of the Asia-Pacific region, the forum’s organising committee told TASS on Wednesday.

“The conference will be devoted to investments in human capital, aimed at expanding efficient cooperation in education, inclusive economic growth and their influence on regional development,” a committee spokesman said, adding that the same issues would also be addressed at one of the forum’s key sessions. Entitled “Talents for Intellectual Leadership”, discussions would be held on the second day of the forum, on September 4.

Another session on the same day, entitled “Conservation of Biological and Landscape Diversity in the Far East: Russian Experience”, would be devoted to the biggest environmental challenges, including programmes to protect endangered species inhabiting the Far Eastern region, such as Amur leopards and Amur tigers and grey whales.

The main programme of the forum will focus on issues of economic development in Russia’s Far East and Russia’s cooperation with countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The opening plenary session – “The Far East on the Global Map of Investment Opportunities” – will highlight competitive advantages in the Far East and the current state of key industries. These issues will be discussed in more detail at sessions devoted to development of energy, fishing, mineral extraction, transport, forestry, shipbuilding, tourism and banking.

Particular attention at the forum will be placed on projects designed to create territories of accelerated development and special economic zones alongside plans to secure Vladivostok’s status as a free port. The programme of additional sessions will also include discussions on cooperation with China, South Korea and Japan.

The forum will close on September 5 with a general discussion about ways to improve the region’s investment climate.

According to the organising committee, more than 400 companies have already applied for registration, including Russian industry giants Gazprom and Rosneft and finance leader Sberbank. About 500 reporters – 200 from foreign news organisations – are expected to cover the event.