French delegation to attend Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok

VLADIVOSTOK. June 25 (Interfax) – A delegation from France will participate in the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), which will be held in Vladivostok in early September, the president of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Emmanuel Quidet said on Friday.

“We will come to the economic forum in September. We would like to organize a Franco-Russian roundtable…This is important to us, it’s important for our companies, because we see and are discovering opportunities that exist in the Far East and the Arctic,” Quidet said at a meeting that Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev, the Russian president’s envoy to the Far East Federal District, held with a French business delegation in Vladivostok.

French businesses’ interest in the Far East is growing. “You said that France has a small presence in the Far East. This is logical, France is a long way from here. But France is the second largest foreign investor in Russia. And, as you noted, France has gradually expanded the scope of its investments,” Quidet said.

He also said that a few years ago a French business delegation that visited the Far East had representatives from two or three companies, but the current delegation has representatives of more than ten.

France’s ambassador to Russia, Pierre Levy also confirmed that French companies will participate in the EEF, but he did not provide details about the planned delegation.

“I know that French companies are supposed to participate in this forum. This would be very interesting. French companies are very interested in this region. There are many sectors to work in,” Levy told reporters after the meeting.

Trutnev noted the importance of the French delegation’s visit to the Far East. “I want to thank the ambassador, the head of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for their visit here, to the Far East. They have already been on Sakhalin. Now [they are] in Primorye. Next is Kamchatka. Their visit here is happening at a time when there are very few such direct international contacts,” he said.

“This is important because the Eastern Economic Forum is soon. We really hope that the whole world, the whole Asia-Pacific region will again gather there. I’m confident that we need to intensify communication. It has decreased somewhat during the pandemic. We need to continue to develop. We need to continue to move forward. I am grateful to all company executives for being here,” Trutnev said.

The sixth EEF will be held on September 2-4 at the campus of the Far Eastern Federal University on Russky Island in Vladivostok. The EEF, which has been held annually since 2015, is primarily aimed at promoting cooperation among countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

The EEF was cancelled in 2020 due to coronavirus restrictions.