vlad.tribnet.com / Issue #545 / Special reports / Reading article...

Primorye’s Governor Sergei Darkin voiced his ambitious projections for creating a megapolitan area in southern Primorye and holding the 2012 APEC forum in Vladivostok to Russian President Vladimir Putin at the 14th Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum held in the Vietnamese city of Hanoi on November 18-19.

At the two-day APEC forum, the delegations from 21 countries discussed issues related to the world’s economic partnerships, personal security, the liberalization of the world economy and the protection of intellectual property rights.

Heading Primorye’s delegation, Sergei Darkin reported to Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on a number of infrastructure projects to be realized in Primorye. Darkin voiced a goal of creating a large megapolitan area in southern Primorye, with an estimated population of 5 million to 7 million people. The high-flying project, named ‘Big Vladivostok’, would join to Vladivostok the towns of Atryom and Ussurisk, as well as Nadezhdinsky and Khasansky Counties.

This project and a number of other preparations, according to Darkin, will help Vladivostok to effectively hold the APEC forum in 2012 if the city is chosen to be the summit host.

Currently, according to Darkin, the work towards evaluating the possibilities for holding the 2012 APEC forum in Vladivostok is in progress. “If Vladivostok is picked as the forum host, we will intensify the preparatory work for such an important event,” Darkin was quoted by the press statement from his office as saying.

Meanwhile, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Russia has yet to place an official request for holding the APEC summit in 2012. “We have only suggested the idea,” Ria Nonosti cited Lavrov as saying at the summit. The proposal, according to Vladimir Frolov, Vice Head of APEC relation’s department of Ministry for Economic Development, was met with interest by APEC colleagues.

According to Vladimir Dobrovolsky, Special Affairs Ambassador and Russia’s top representative in APEC, the question of the country’s participation will be considered only after appointing the host of the 2011 APEC summit.

APEC is a 21-member organization which counts as members such countries as the U.S., Japan, China, Australia, Singapore, Canada, Thailand, S. Korea and others. Russia has been an APEC member since 1998.