A recap of the results of the 6th Eastern Economic Forum was one of the main items on the agenda of a meeting of the Council of the Far Eastern Federal District, which was chaired by Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary of the Russian President in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev.
Trutnev noted that more than 4,000 people from Russia and from 58 foreign countries took part in the Forum and that 380 agreements worth more than RUB 3 trillion were signed. “Our common work is what ensures that all these agreements are implemented, benefit the development of the economy, and improve the lives of people living in the Far East,” Trutnev said.
Several new formats were tested at the EEF 2021, including a meeting between the head of state and the moderators of key sessions at the Forum. “Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin supported this work. He said that he would agree to hold a similar meeting at the next Forum. I believe this format is important because it helped to bring together all the participants’ proposals and report them to the president. This resulted in the signing of a list of orders consisting of three different blocks, including the most important issues concerning the development of the Far East. The Russian president accepted several proposals from the Forum participants and colleagues who were present here. The government was instructed to work on some of them, while final decisions were made on others, such as preferential mortgages for doctors and teachers,” Trutnev said.
Upon conclusion of the EEF 2021, Putin issued 61 orders. Some of them have deadlines in 2022. The orders concern the preparation of master plans for the renovation of cities, incentives for timber processing, assistance for geological subsoil exploration, infrastructure support for oil and gas refining projects, and the development of a construction cluster in the Far East. “We need to organize this work so that the instructions are fully executed,” Trutnev told the regional leaders.
One of the most important focuses will be the start of renovations in Far Eastern cities. The first master plans will be presented to Putin at the 7th Eastern Economic Forum. Trutnev said the projects will be discussed publicly and selected on a competitive basis. “We will choose them together depending on the extent to which they are elaborated,” he said.
Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and the Arctic Alexey Chekunkov noted that the main focuses in terms of fulfilling the Russian president’s orders are to provide state support for priority sectors of the economy, boost the investment attractiveness of the Far East, expand the transport accessibility of the regions, including air accessibility, and improve the quality of life of the Far East.
In terms of ensuring transport accessibility in the Far Eastern Federal District, a unified Far Eastern airline has been created and is currently in operation. Flights have commenced on 20 new socially significant interregional routes. The federal budget has earmarked RUB 5.9 billion in subsidies per year to ensure accessibility for flights in the Far East. Work is underway to increase the amount of the air transportation subsidy programme.
Gazprom and the Sakhalin Region signed a cooperation agreement in late September to implement investment projects to develop the oil and gas industry and provide the region with competitive motor fuel to produce aviation kerosene, gasoline, and diesel fuel. A feasibility study will be drafted to build a plant on Sakhalin Island to produce liquid fuels from gas condensate, taking into account updates to the raw material base.
The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East prepared proposals to create a preferential regime on the territory of the Kuril Islands, which ensures the most competitive conditions to do business.
Another order seeks to reduce the minimum volume of capital investments made by entrepreneurs who are required to obtain the status of a resident of the Free Port of Vladivostok to RUB 500,000. This new measure will increase the number of SMEs who are residents.
During the EEF 2021, agreements were signed to implement the first infrastructure projects using the new Far Eastern concession mechanism. “I would like to note the active position of the Magadan Region, which has already brought in high-quality partners to implement projects of the VTB Group and DOM.RF. This is the key to the successful use of this mechanism,” Trutnev said.
Work will continue to modernize social infrastructure as part of the ‘Single Subsidy’ programme. The draft federal law on the federal budget for 2022 and the planned period of 2023–2024 has earmarked budget allocations in the amount of RUB 22 billion for 2022, RUB 17 billion for 2023, and RUB 17.5 billion for 2024 for a total of RUB 57 billion.
The Council decided to incentivize the export of feed products and develop the agro-industrial complex in the Far Eastern Federal District. This issue will be reviewed at a meeting of the co-chairs of the Russian-Chinese Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation in the Far East and Baikal Region of Russia and Northeast China.
The Council prepared draft instructions as regards healthcare to implement special measures to create funding sources for medical organizations located in areas with a low population density and in remote areas in Russian regions that are part of the Far Eastern Federal District.
Other measures were also discussed, including measures to stop the outflow and increase the population in the Far Eastern Federal District, which the Russian government is currently drafting.
Following the discussion, Trutnev instructed the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and regional governors to start working on the programme of the 7th Eastern Economic Forum and prepare for participation in the ‘Far East Street’ exhibition in 2022.
