The economic and social development of Siberia and Russia’s Far East are the main tasks of the Russian government, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday after the first meeting of foreign and trade ministers of the member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation organization.
The APEC Summit 2012 began on September 2 in Vladivostok. A number of major international forums will be held in the city and the major event will be a meeting of heads of states and governments of the Asia-Pacific region scheduled for September 8-9.
“It is to our benefit to use the unique geographic, geopolitical, geo-economic position of Russia at its maximum, especially taking into account that the economic and social recovery of Siberia and the Far East are the priorities of the Russian state,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov added that this does not mean refocusing the Russian economy to the East because Russia “by the twist of will, geography, and history has focused on the West and the East, and to the South and the North.”
“We are not saying that we do all of this and forget about everything that happens in our relations with our European and South Asian partners. We want to grow organically and use all their comparative advantages,” Lavrov said.
