Lavrov leaves for Sri Lanka and Bangalore.

MOSCOW, October 25 (Itar-Tass) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei
Lavrov is leaving for Sri Lanka on Sunday. After that he will travel to
Bangalore that will host a trilateral meeting of the foreign ministers of
Russia, India and China (RIC) on October 27.

Bilateral relations, especially in the economic sphere, will be
central to the talks in Sri Lanka. Lavrov will meet the President of Sri
Lanka Mahinda Radjapaks, Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and other
Sri Lankan leaders.
"For our part, we will confirm in principle our interest in working in
several directions, including the prospecting and extraction of gas on the
Sri Lankan shelf, modernization and construction of maritime ports and the
creation of energy infrastructure," the Russian Foreign Ministry official
spokesman Andrei Nesterenko said.
The Russian diplomat added that an inter-government Agreement for
cooperation in fighting against illegal trade in narcotic drugs and
psychotropic substances and their consumption as well as a Memorandum of
understanding between Russia and Sri Lanka are to be signed during the
visit.
Other topics for discussion include tourism, namely how to increase
the number of Russian tourists to Sri Lanka; the training of Sri Lankan
students in Russian higher educational establishments on state
scholarships and on a commercial basis as well as cultural exchanges.
"Russia will confirm its intention to continue strengthening
anti-terror cooperation with Sri Lanka both at bilateral and international
levels, including within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO). In June 2009 Sri Lanka, with Russia's active support,
was granted the status of a partner for dialogue in this organization,"
Nesterenko went on to say.
Afghanistan will dominate the trilateral meeting of Russian, Indian
and Chinese foreign ministers in Bangalore, India, on October 27.
"In the light of the ongoing extreme instability in Afghanistan a
concrete discussion of Afghan-related issues will be held with an aim to
work out common approaches of the three countries, including coordination
of efforts on how to counteract the threats of terrorism and drug
trafficking coming from that country and how to render assistance in the
economic recovery of Afghanistan," the Russian Foreign Ministry official
spokesman said.
The foreign ministers will pay special attention to energy security,
the United Nations reform, interaction within the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization (SCO) and the situation on the Korean peninsula. They will
sum up the results of RIC work over the past year and will outline further
steps to increase efforts in various directions.
A joint communique to be issued at the end of the meeting will reflect
prospects of cooperation within the framework of this format and the
approaches of the three states to solving international and regional
problems," Nesterenko emphasized.


.Russian-Finnish forestry summit to open in St. Petersburg.

ST.PETERSBURG, October 25 (Itar-Tass) - The creation of an attractive
investment climate in Russian forestry will become the main subject for
discussion at the Russian-Finnish forestry summit opening on Sunday.
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and his Finnish counterpart
Matti Vanhanen will participate in the summit's work, a source at the
Russian government press service told Itar-Tass.
Mauri Pekkarinen, the Finnish Minister of Economic Affairs, will
co-chair the forestry summit together with Russian First Deputy Prime
Minister Viktor Zubkov. The main aim of the Russian-Finnish Forestry
forum, according to Mauri Pekkarinen, is to work out a common
understanding of what forestry and the wood industry are and to define
goals and steps to achieve new growth in this sector.
Mr. Pekkarinen believes that it will be important to define priorities
for future cooperation. He recalled that over the past 15 years Finnish
businessmen had invested more than a billon dollars in the development and
modernization of the Russian wood sector. At present, the Finns are
interested in importing Russian wood and in integrating the wood sector
with other branches of the economy, the minister stressed.
"It's important for Finland to make sure that Russia is ready for
investment growth at the expense of removing trade barriers between the
two countries," the Finnish minister of economic affairs said.
Russia's wood resources are estimated at 85 billion cubic meters which
is almost 40 times more than in Finland, Pekkarinen went on to say.
The Finnish delegation to the Forestry forum also includes Paavo
Vayrynen, the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, and Sirkka-Liisa
Anttila, the Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, as well as 130 state
officials and businessmen.
Viktor Khristenko, the Russian Minister of Industry and Trade, and
Russian Agriculture Minister Elena Skrynnik, will represent Russia.
Roundtable discussions will be held on the sidelines of the Forestry
forum.
The first Russian-Finnish Forestry Summit was held in Moscow in March
2002, the second was held in Helsinki in October 2004.

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