Medvedev arrives in Singapore on first-ever visit for APEC summit.

SINGAPORE, November 14 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian President Dmitry
Medvedev has arrived in Singapore where he will attend the 17th
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit and make the first-ever official
visit to that Southeast Asian country.

Medvedev will also have a number of bilateral meetings, including with
the Chinese president.
Presidential aide Sergei Prikhodko said Medvedev's participation in
the summit would begin with an address to the APEC Business Summit,
focusing on the global economic agenda: priorities and actions.
U.S. President Barack Obama and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh Triet
will address the summit before Medvedev. Japanese Prime Minister Yukio
Hatoyama will speak after him.
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."
On Saturday evening the Russian leader will hold separate meetings
with Chinese President Hu Jintao and Vietnamese President Nguyen Minh
Triet.
Prikhodko did not rule out other bilateral contacts, but they will
depend on whether the leaders' schedules are coordinated well enough.
The last event on Saturday's schedule is a collective photo session.
By tradition, APEC leaders will be wearing ethnic costumes. The organisers
of the Singapore Summit have prepared for the participating heads of state
and government long flax garments with embroidered lotus flower patterns.
Also the leaders will be invited to go to a concert and take a stroll
along Singapore's waterfront and then attend a reception to be given by
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Before leaving Singapore, Medvedev is expected to visit the Russian
Pacific Fleet flagship missile cruiser Varyag that is currently in this
Southeast Asian country on a friendly visit.
The purpose of the visit is to demonstrate the Russian Navy flag and
to further develop and strengthen business and friendly contacts between
the two countries.
Marines, an aviation group, and Makarov Pacific Naval School cadets
are abroad the ship. Representatives of the Vladivostok eparchy have also
been included in the crew.

.Russia, Venezuela to discuss cooperation between emergencies
ministries.

CARACAS, November 14 (Itar-Tass) -- A Russian delegation led by
Emergencies Minister Sergei Shoigu has begun a working visit to Venezuela.
The Russian and Venezuelan delegations will discuss prospects for
bilateral cooperation between the emergencies ministries of the two
countries in protecting people from natural calamities and industrial
accidents, carrying out post-crisis rehabilitation measures, and providing
Venezuelan rescue services with Russian equipment.
The two countries intend to work out a plan of cooperation for
2010-2011 that will include information exchange, joint efforts to protect
people from natural calamities and industrial accidents, and the training
of Venezuelan rescuers in Russia.
Shoigu will meet with Venezuelan Interior and Justice Minister Tarek
El Aissami and national civil defence director Luis Diaz.
On Saturday, the Russian delegation will visit the emergency centre in
the state of Anzoategui.

.Georgia to resume traffic to Russia through Verkhny Lars checkpoint.

TBILISI, November 14 (Itar-Tass) -- Georgia will agree to resume
traffic to Russia through the Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars checkpoint on border of
the two countries, MP Dzhondi Bagaturia said after a meeting of the
national Security Council on Friday.
"This is a very important decision. It has been awaited by people
living in the Kazbegi district of Georgia and Georgia's neighbours," he
said.
At the same time, another participant in the meeting, Christian
Democrats leader Georgy Targamadze said, "We are talking only about the
resumption of cargo traffic so far."
The Verkhny Lars checkpoint was closed in July 2006 for renovation,
which was completed in May 2009.
Georgia, with U.S. financial assistance, built a new checkpoint on its
side in early September 2009. This is the only checkpoint that links
Georgia and Russia. On November 6, the Georgian Foreign Ministry said
Tbilisi would be "ready to resume traffic through the Kazbegi-Verkhny Lars
checkpoint after Russia is ready to solve the issue."
The resumption of traffic will also benefit Armenia because this is
the only road that links it with Russia.
-0-zak/