Deals worth up to $50 billion inked at EEF

Agreements totaling $49.3 billion (3.6 trillion rubles) were signed at the 6th Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) last week, Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev said at a conference on Monday.

“In terms of numbers, agreements were signed at the forum for a total of 3.6 trillion rubles. Now there is a lot of work to bring these 3.6 trillion [rubles] into the economy of the Far East,” Trutnev stated.

The official noted that authorities in Russia’s Far East region will continue to work on attracting investments, both Russian and foreign.

“We will continue to try to constantly create new development opportunities, thus securing the status of a testing ground for management technologies associated with the development of the region,” he said.

Delegations from nearly 60 countries visited the EEF in Russia’s Vladivostok last week. Government representatives and entrepreneurs discussed economic development issues related to Russia’s Far East.

Among the major developments unveiled at the forum were a proposal to make Russia’s Kuril Islands tax-free for businesses for 10 years. A deal was also sealed aimed at boosting export growth and transit traffic along the Northern Sea Route in Russia’s Arctic, the 5,500-kilometer lane which is the shortest sea passage between Europe and Asia.

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