Russian President Vladimir Putin has arrived in the Far Eastern city of Vladivostok to attend the 2012 Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit on September 7-9.
Putin will start his participation in the APEC summit by delivering a speech at the business summit on Friday, his aide Yury Ushakov said on Wednesday.
The business summit will gather more than 500 leading entrepreneurs from Pacific Rim countries. The official part of the APEC summit will be held on September 8-9.
Ushakov said nearly all APEC members will be represented at the top level, whereas the United States will be represented by State Secretary Hillary Clinton. President Barack Obama will be unable to attend due to an ongoing election campaign in his country.
Among the priorities that Russia has chosen for its APEC presidency are trade and investment liberalization, regional economic integration, strengthening food security, forming reliable transport and logistics systems and cooperation in attaining innovation growth goals.
At the end of the summit, APEC leaders plan to adopt a joint declaration.
Putin is scheduled to hold a number of bilateral meetings with heads of APEC states and governments on the sidelines of the forum.
The summit will end with the Russian president’s news conference.
This is the first time Russia, an APEC member since 1998, is hosting the summit of the group, created in 1989 to promote economic cooperation in the Pacific Rim.
Key Facilities of the 2012 APEC Summit in Vladivostok
Since Russia assumed APEC’s rotating presidency on January 1, it has organized more than 100 events, including ministerial conferences, sessions of committees and working groups, seminars and conferences. More than 50 Russian initiatives have either been implemented or are being put into practice.
Indonesia will assume the forum’s rotating presidency in 2013.