VLADIVOSTOK, January 12 (RIA Novosti) - A senior aide to Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the Far East remained Russia's most problematic region.
Kamil Iskhakov, the presidential envoy to the Far East Federal District, told a news conference: "The Far East Federal District remains Russia's most problematic region with a low level of economic and social development."
He added that the main difficulties were in transportation and energy sectors. Although the region has not been hit by any major power outages this winter, many residents have to had to withstand freezing temperatures in their own apartments as heating supplies have failed in previous years.
When talking about transportation, Iskhakov said costs in the regional gross domestic product exceeded 20%, whereas the national average was 9%.
As the flow of local people leaving the area increases, envoy said the migration problems had to be addressed quickly and called for market economic relations to be encouraged in the region, including support for small business. In fact, although at 6,215,900 square kilometers (about 2,400,000 square miles) the federal district covers 36.4% of Russian territory, it has a population of only 7,170,000 or 4.9%. Immigration from China has provided another concern for local authorities.
Iskhakov said Russia's Far East needed to strengthen its regional cooperation relations with the rapidly developing Pacific Rim. "We will not be able to boost the [Russian] Far East if we do not ensure relations, including a good investment climate, with the ASEAN member-states, which is a very strong economic bloc," he said.
The Association of South East Nations comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
