The EEP Forum: An Important Platform for Regional Dialogue & Cooperation

The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) is an international forum held each year since 2015 in September, at the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Russia, for the purpose of encouraging foreign investment in the Russian Far East. The Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister have attended this forum since its foundation.

The 4th EEF will be held in Vladivostok on September 11-13.

The Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister, Zhang Hanhui, emphasized that the EEF has become an important international platform for promoting dialogue and strengthening cooperation between the countries of the region.

“With the expansion of its scale and influence in the last four years, the EEF has become an important platform for strengthening dialogue and cooperation between different countries, China attaches great importance to it and firmly supports Russia in holding the forum: we have sent high-ranking delegations to participate in the EEF in the last three years,” Hanhui said.

“At present, the countries of the region show enthusiasm for cooperation in the Far East, giving us the necessary advantages for more active interaction and development,” he summarized, going on to note that this year, for the first time in the history of the forum, China's President Xi Jinping will participate. In addition to the head of state, the Chinese delegation will include business representatives, as well as leaders of nine regions of the country.

“Regarding the dialogue at the regional level, there will be nine regional leaders from the Chinese side and 13 of their colleagues from Russia, which will be a very large meeting in terms of regional cooperation,” Hanhui said.

“This year is a year of regional cooperation between China and Russia: we will hold a dialogue between the heads of regions, exchange fruitful experience of cooperation in the Far East and thereby fully utilize the potential of two important platforms for interaction: between Northeast China and the Russian Far East, as well as the Volga – Yangtze Mechanism,” Hanhui added.

The Yangtze-Volga Mechanism links areas along the two major rivers in China and Russia. It plays a positive role in promoting ties and cooperation between the nations and includes six regions along the upper and middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China and 14 federal provinces along the Volga. Over the past four years, regions along the rivers have had extensive cooperation on trade, investment and e-commerce.

By Dimitri dolaberidze

Image source: Kremlin info