Russia Hopes Upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum Will Boost Foreign Trade, Particularly With Asia and U.S.

For the first time in its history, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum will take place in Russia, with a keynote speech by President Putin in Vladivostok on September 7th.  The Russian government expects the upcoming forum will help to attract more investment to Russia and remove doubts  about the country's efforts to invest abroad, First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov said Tuesday.  "The main result will be how much investment Russia will receive after the meeting and how the other economies will be ready to accept Russian investment," Shuvalov said at a news conference.  Shuvalov hopes the APEC forum will help Russia to achieve its goal of having at least 50 percent of its foreign trade come from Asian economies and/or the United States.  Noting that Russia has long had stronger trade ties with Europe, Shuvalov acknowledged that Russia will continue to seek a new trade agreement with the European Union, with the ultimate goal of establishing a free-trade zone.  Shuvalov also noted that Russia will apply as much effort to promote trade with the Asian economies, adding that he hopes that Putin would set up an agency to advance trade ties with Asia.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/special/apec/2012/apec-summit-might-boost-investment.html