Russian leaders said here Friday that Russia hoped to host the Asia-Pacific Cooperation (APEC) forum in 2012 to strengthen economic ties of the country's Asian part with other APEC members.
"If our colleagues and APEC partners give us the honor to hold the presidency of APEC in 2012, we'll do our best to do it in the proper way," said Russian President Vladimir Putin at a press conference here Friday on the sidelines of the APEC Leaders Week.
"We want to hold it in the Asian part of Russia, for instance in Vladivostock," he said, noting that there are a lot of resources there which APEC members really need.
Later in the day, Russian Trade Minister German Gref told journalists that Russia hoped to hold the 2012 APEC Leaders Week in Vladivostock's Russky Island and preparations could start soon after the APEC economic leaders agreed to hold the APEC meeting in Russia.
To raise the image of Vladivostock, Russian delegation held a special press conference Friday afternoon to brief the city's ambitious development projects.
Sergey Darkin, governor of Russia's Primorye Territory where Vladivostock is located, said that the city will embark on 43 projects worth billions of U.S. dollars, particularly in the sector of oil and gas that the region is abundant for.
He said that a bridge could be built to link the mainland with Russky Island to facilitate transport.
"Our aim is to build Vladivostock into Russia's economic and cultural center in the Asia-Pacific region," he said.
Source: Xinhua
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