Russian President Vladimir Putin waves upon his arrival to Hanoi international airport Nov. 18. Photo: AFP

Russia is optimistic about APEC future, and the country, having made the important decision to work with APEC, intends to take a vigorous part in resolving future tasks together with other members, President Vladimir V. Putin emphasised in an article on the occasion of the APEC Economic Leader's Week which is going on in Ha Noi.

Russia is very interested in the formation and proper functioning of various free trade zones within APEC, Putin said in the article, adding that the country is thoroughly studying APEC countries as models for improving Russia's domestic investment environment, as well as their experience in fighting corruption. "They are of practical importance for our reforms, which are aimed at building up and diversifying foreign economic contacts," he wrote.

According to the President, in the upcoming summit in Ha Noi, Russia is going to discuss a plan of action to implement the already approved ‘roadmap’ for achieving the Bogor goals. "We have high expectations for this project, and we hope that it will become a major step towards building a system of free and open trade and investment in the region", he said.

Noting that APEC was formed primarily as an economically oriented multilateral mechanism, but real life is continuously placing issues of international and regional politics on its agenda, the President asserted that one of APEC's key goals is countering international terrorism, thus along with measures to eliminate hotbeds of terrorism, it is essential to completely eradicate the social roots of terrorism-poverty, hunger, and chronic unemployment. In general, it is important to bridge the gap in the social and economic development of nations, he said, adding that he believed APEC will provide quite a few opportunities to achieve this goal.

In his opinion, Asia and the Pacific is a region of unique cultural and ethnic diversity, and it should develop immunity to the ideology of confrontation between civilizations, as well as to nationalism and extremism. In this regard, Putin stressed the need to continue efforts to eliminate funding for terrorism, and emphasised Russia's readiness to take an active part in working with its partners to reach this goal.

Russia is also open to cooperation with APEC in the fight against organized crime, drug trafficking, and arms smuggling, Russian President wrote, adding that Russia's law-enforcement bodies can do more than simply exchange relevant information.

Regarding epidemics and pandemics combat, the President said that cooperation in APEC opened up new possibilities in the fight against infectious diseases. "We fully support the development of an APEC partnership to create an early-warning system for emergencies in the region and jointly deal with their aftermath," he wrote.

Putin also mentioned international energy security, which he called an urgent matter for many APEC members due to rising global oil prices.

APEC is increasingly interested in having a new, more reliable energy system and Russia is ready to take an active part in implementing this large-scale initiative, the President stated.

In terms of high tech areas, President Putin expressed interests in APEC's interaction experience in innovation, especially in developing nanotechnologies and exchanging information in such high-tech areas as IT and biotechnologies. "APEC nations should pay more attention to the development of cooperation in education," he also suggested.

Source: VNA