The Japanese business community should take a more active role in large-scale energy projects in the Russian Far East region of Sakhalin, the region's governor said.
Alexander Khoroshavin traveled to Japan as part of a delegation from the Russian Far East, led by Presidential envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Viktor Ishayev.
The delegation prepared a report to the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on "The strategy of economic development of the Far East and Transbaikal Regions until 2025."
Khoroshavin asked Japanese businessmen for a more active partnership in joint projects.
"The government of the Sakhalin region is systematically working towards the creation of a favorable investment climate in the region.
During the conference, Khoroshavin said foreign trade turnover between Sakhalin and Japan in 2009 exceeded $3.3 billion. He added that as of January 1, 2010, accumulated Japanese capital in Sakhalin's economy was $6.9 billion, while foreign investment in Sakhalin last year totaled $2.6 billion.
In 2009 Japan was the main importer to the Sakhalin region, supplying 5.3 million metric tons of oil, around 4.8 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas, over 745,000 metric tons of coal, and 21,000 metric tons of fish and seafood.
There are 68 Japanese corporate bodies working in the Sakhalin region, using Japanese capital and 11 subsidiaries of Japanese companies, including Japanese bank Hokkaido Ginkgo.