Japan's government and Japanese businesses are interested in cooperation and investment in Russia's Far East, Tokyo's ambassador to Russia Masaharu Kono said on Monday. The ambassador met in Khabarovsk with the Russian president's envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District, Viktor Ishayev. "The Far East is the Russian region closest to Japan," Kono told Ishayev, according to Ishayev's press service. "Japan's government and businesses are interested in cooperation with Russian Far East." "Our economies are complementary. Keeping in mind that Japan has high technologies, we must cooperate," Ishayev was quoted as saying.
The presidential envoy identified container transport, aviation, the oil and gas sector and tourism, as well as the building of a spaceport, as the main areas of potential Russian-Japanese cooperation in the Far East, a press service representative said. Ishayev said the Far Eastern Advisory Council on Business Development would assist Japanese businessmen interested in launching new enterprises in the region, the spokesman added.
The meeting was held in advance of Ishayev's visit to Japan at the end of the month, when he will acquaint Japanese businessman with the largest investment projects in the Far East and hold a series of negotiations. "I am sure we will have serious and constructive dialogue in Japan," Ishayev said.
