Medvedev, Hu to discuss anti-crisis policy issues.

14/11 Tass 4

MOSCOW, November 14 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
and Chinese President Hu Jintao will meet in Singapore on the sidelines of
the APEC summit on Saturday to discuss anti-crisis issues.

Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said the Russian leader would be
interested to learn more of China's experience of dealing with the crisis.
"I believe that a great deal of attention at the meeting will be given
to joint efforts to overcome the crisis. It is particularly important for
us to discuss this with China because it has been virtually unaffected by
the crisis. On the contrary, they have used the current situation in order
to improve their performance indicators," Prikhodko said.
"It would be useful for us to talk about that," he added.
"We will also continue discussing the modernisation of the world
financial and credit system. This does not mean that we have ready
proposals, but this should be discussed at all times," he said.
Medvedev and Hu will also analyse the current state of bilateral
interaction and joint efforts in the international arena.
The dialoguer between Russia and China is continuous. "The leaders
have a separate meeting practically at all international forums, such as
G8, G20, SCO or APEC," the Kremlin aide said.
He does not rule out that the Russian president may have other
bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the APEC summit, including those
with the president of Vietnam and the prime minister of Canada.
He may also meet with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama. The two
leaders agreed to meet when they attended the U.N. General Assembly in New
York in September.
Prior to this trip to Singapore, Hatomaya said he was prepared to
discuss the full range of bilateral relations with Medvedev, including the
territorial issue.
After arrival in Singapore early on Saturday, Medvedev will address an
APEC Business Summit, focusing on the global economic agenda: priorities
and actions.
After the address, Medvedev will head to a working luncheon with other
APEC leaders, to be followed by the forum's working meeting.
In the afternoon, the Russian president will attend a meeting with
members of the APEC Business Advisory Council. Established in 1996 for the
purpose of drawing private businesses into APEC projects, the council is
composed of three representatives of major companies from all of the
participating countries, who are appointed by the heads of state and
government for a three-year period. Russia is represented by Oleg
Deripaska (Base Element), Andrei Kostin (VTB) and Alexander Medvedev
(Gazprom). "The council's meetings are a very useful mechanism that allows
for comparing political approaches with the ideas private businesses
have," Prikhodko said. "We are determined to go ahead with this practice."
The last event on Saturday's schedule is a collective photo session.
By tradition, APEC leaders will be wearing ethnic costumes.
On Sunday, Medvedev will attend another working session of the APEC
summit where the final declaration is to be adopted. The summit will end
with a working breakfast.
In the afternoon, the Russian president will meet U.S. President
Barack Obama. According to Prikhodko, an hour to an hour and a half has
been reserved for the meeting that will take place at the Shangri-La
Hotel, the residence of the American leader during the summit - formally,
in U.S. territory.
After the meeting with Obama Medvedev will begin an official visit to
Singapore. Although by that time the Russian president will have stayed
more than 24 hours on Singaporean soil, the official welcoming ceremony
will be held before the visit begins, as the protocol requires.
Medvedev will also have talks with Singaporean President Sellapan
Ramanathan and Singaporean political patriarch Lee Kuan Yew, the father of
the current prime minister and author of the Singaporean economic miracle.
On Monday, the final day of the visit, the Russian president will meet
representatives from major Singaporean and Russian companies. After that
he is scheduled to have talks with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and, by
Singaporean tradition, will converse with Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong.
-0-zak/