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President Vladimir Putin
sought to lure Asian investment to Russia’s Far East on Thursday as the
launch was announced of a huge Arctic gas project aimed at Asian markets.
Hosting leaders including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Indian
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, Putin
lauded Russia’s Far East as a destination for investment.
The region is full of “hardworking, energetic people”, “industries of the
future” and “the richest reserves of natural resources”, Putin said.
“Take advantage of these opportunities,” he told a plenary session of the
Eastern Economic Forum.
Moscow has hosted the forum every year since 2015 as it looks to bolster
ties with Asia amid tensions with the West.
Russian gas firm Novatek announced at the forum the launch of a major
liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic with Chinese, French and Japanese
partners.
Novatek said a final decision had been made on financing the $21 billion
Arctic LNG 2 project with partners including France’s Total, CNPC and CNOOC
of China, and a Japanese consortium of Mitsui & Co and JOGMEC.
The project will see the development of a gas field and the building of a
liquefaction plant on the Gydan Peninsula in Russia’s Arctic, with exports
starting in 2023.
It is the second launch of a major project for Novatek in the Arctic in the
last three years as Russia — already the world’s biggest gas exporter —
looks to develop LNG shipments to energy-hungry Asian markets.
Russian petrochemicals firm Sibur also announced a deal Thursday for gas
giant Gazprom to supply it with liquefied petroleum gas for a new plant on
the border with China that will produce polymers for Chinese plastic
production.
In his speech at the plenary, Abe hailed Japan’s growing business ties with
Russia and Moscow’s development of the Arctic through new technology and ice-
breaking ships.
– Linking Arctic to Pacific –
The Arctic LNG 2 project, he said, would be the realisation of a “grand
connection” between the Pacific and Arctic oceans.
“For the first time in human history these two oceans will become one, and
a magnificent physical distribution highway will come into being,” he said.
Abe urged Putin to finally sign a peace treaty with Japan, overcoming the
two countries’ differences over a chain of Far Eastern islands.
Putin said however that there were still “many questions” that needed to be
resolved before the signing of a treaty.
Putin and Abe have met 27 times in bids to resolve the dispute, which
centres on islands — known in Russia as the Kurils and the Northern
Territories in Japan — seized by Soviet troops in the dying days of World
War II.
Modi told the forum that India was looking to “walk hand-in-hand with
Russia on this visionary journey” to develop Far Eastern economic ties.
He said India would provide a $1 billion line of credit to promote
investment in Russia’s Far East.
Modi and Putin spent much of their time together on the forum’s opening day
on Wednesday, touring a naval shipyard and calling each other “close” and
“great” friends.
No major new deals were announced in their talks, but a joint statement
called for further cooperation including creating joint ventures in India to
develop and manufacture civilian aircraft.
India is a major client for Russia’s arms industry and the two countries
have signed an agreement to jointly produce Kamov Ka-226 military
helicopters.
Russia’s pivot to Asia comes after its economy was hit by sanctions imposed
by the European Union and United States over its 2014 annexation of Crimea
from Ukraine.
Putin hosted Chinese President Xi Jinping at the country’s other main
business showcase, the Saint Petersburg Economic Forum, in June.
(BSS)
