Individual Schedule of Meetings Will Be Provided for the VII BEF Foreign Participants

The meeting with representatives of foreign states accredited in Irkutsk on their participation in the VII Baikal Economic Forum was held in the Irkutsk Oblast Government. Guo Min, Consul General of China in Irkutsk; Dariusz Pawlowski, Head of the General Consulate of the Republic of Poland; Togoo Enkhbold, Consul of Mongolia; Yu Myung-Soo,Consul of Consulate General of the Republic of Korea; Yu Myung-Hwa, Energy Specialist of the Consulate General of the Republic of Korea; Tatiana Munin, the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Lithuania participated in the meeting. The Russian side was represented by Sergei Anikeev, the Irkutsk Oblast Deputy Prime Minister; Ludmila Kurbatova, the RF Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Irkutsk; Andrei Putsik, the Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Labour, Science and Higher Education etc.

Sergei Anikeev expressed interest in that the representatives of big business of foreign countries enter the list of delegations. However, he drew attention to obvious advantages of the region: huge natural resource potential, developed transportation infrastructure, cheap electricity and the availability of skilled labor. If necessary, the Forum Organizing Committee makes individual schedule of meetings including visits to industrial sites for foreign guests.

"Today, there is a need to return to those areas in which the Irkutsk region was strong as a part of the Soviet Union: electricity, geology, engineering, mining, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. Regional Government is extremely interested in participation of Irkutsk specialists in projects in China, Mongolia, Republic of Korea and European countries,” said Sergei Anikeev.

According to him, cooperation with the Consulate General of Poland in obtaining Schengen visas will provide fast entering the European Economic Area and will promote cooperation between the Irkutsk Oblast and Poland. Positive preconditions for cooperation are in the field of agriculture and furniture production. In addition, it is necessary to introduce major hotel networks to Irkutsk, that will increase the flow of tourists and business visitors from Europe and Asia.

After that, the programme of the Baikal Economic Forum was introduced to the participants. As it was last year, the major events will be held at the venues: Sibexpocenter and Baikal Business Centre. Traditionally, the Plenary Sessions will be simultaneous interpretated in English, Chinese, Japanese; round tables discussions – consecutive interpretation in the same languages.