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In 2007, Dutch companies invested $3.3 billion into intensely developing oil and gas projects of Sakhalin Island, thus expanding the overall investment of the Netherlands to $17.5 billion, Sakhalin’s administration recently reported.

“We compared volumes of investment contributed by different countries and it should be noted that Dutch companies are the leaders,” Sakhalin Governor Alexander Khoroshavin revealed at a meeting with an Ambassador of the Netherlands to Russia Jan-Paul Dirkse.

During the meeting, the officials discussed perspectives of cultural and economic cooperation between the two countries.

The Dutch Ambassador, who visited Sakhalin for the third time already, noted that the oil and gas industry contributes immensely to the development of the local economy.

Russia and the Netherlands are currently working out a new joint program for cooperation for the next three years, the press statement reported. In the Sakhalin region, the agriculture industry can become a prospective sector for further cooperation, Khoroshavin noted.

Cultural links are also developing, Khoroshavin reported. He mentioned the successful cooperation between the Sakhalin regional museum and the Leiden museum. Khoroshavin also revealed that thanks to an honorary consulate of the Netherlands which was opened in Sakhalin last July, the residents of Sakhalin enjoy the opportunity to apply for visas without leaving the region. It definitely smoothes cultural exchanges and helps to increase tourism, he indicated.