Russian Economic Forum Bringing Together Ministers from Shanghai Cooperation Organization Countries

09.04.2009 — News

THE SVERDLOVSK OBLAST.

The 14th Russian Economic Forum will take place in Ekaterinburg on 14-16 May 2009. It will become a rehearsal for the summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) heads of states that will take place in Ekaterinburg on 15-16 June.

Nearly 600 participants are expected to take part in the Forum. Among them are: Viktor Basargin, the Regional Development Minister of the RF; Shri Kamal Nath, the Minister of Commerce and Industry of India; and, Akylbek Zhaparov and Gulomjon Bobozod, the Economic Development and Trade Ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.

At the REF plenary meeting, the SCO member countries' industrial and economic policy at the time of the global financial crisis will be discussed. The organizers will dedicate the second part of the Forum to the analysis of economic advantages and disadvantages of Russia's regions which will be categorised into four types - raw material suppliers, port services providers, agricultural areas, and industrial areas. The Sverdlovsk Oblast will be included in the industrial category; the crisis here has led to drop in demand and, as a consequence, to cutting down production in the key industries - metallurgy and machine building.