Russia’s Trans-Baikal Territory to intensify contacts with South Korea, Japan - governor

BEIJING, April 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Trans-Baikal Territory plans to step up cooperation with the countries in the Asia-Pacific region, in addition to China, specifically, with South Korea and Japan, the territory’s Governor, Natalia Zhdanova, said on Thursday. Neither North Korea nor South Korea are represented (within the framework of our cooperation), but intense negotiations are underway. We hope there will be progress here too. Japan has so far shown considerable interest in the humanitarian component and related projects," she said. "As the Chinese proverb goes, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I believe we will be able to develop relations with the Republic of Korea, Japan and other East Asian counties in such a progressive manner. " According to the governor, work is in progress on broader cooperation with Seoul and Tokyo. At the same time, vigorous efforts are being made to attract investment from China, business representatives from such areas adjacent to Russia as China’s Heilonjiang and Inner Mongolia provinces. "We are ready to create a kind of ‘pool’ of plots of land from 20 to 50 hectares, if this triggers interest from our Chinese counterparts, if there are serious, large-scale investors, earnest and respectable, who have capital and who will be able to open big enterprises, like, for example, in the Khabarovsk Territory where vegetables are grown together with Japan. We have small precedents on the issue," the governor noted. Zhdanova is paying a week-long visit to China, during which it is planned to give a fresh impetus to the development of inter-regional economic ties between Russia and China. Read more