MOSCOW, October 24 (Itar-Tass) — Vladimir Putin will meet with Leonid Tibilov, Head of South Ossetia, who arrived in Russia for an official visit at the invitation of the President of the Russian Federation (RF), the Kremlin press service reported.
"Talks at summit level wil be held on October 24. The leaders are expected to exchange views on bilateral and regional agendas, on assistance by the RF in the formation of South Ossetia statehood, the restoration of the republic and its socio-economic development," a press service official pointed out.
Cooperation between the two countries is gathering momentum. Their political dialogue is notable for intensiveness. A working meeting between the two Heads of State was held in Sochi on May12, 2012. South Ossetian Foreign Minister David Sanakoyev made an official visit to Moscow on September 8-9, 2012.
Interparliamentary contacts gain in scope: the Federation Council (FC) upper house of the Russian parliament and the Parliament of the Republic of South Ossetia set up a joint commission for cooperation. FC leaders visited Tskhunval twice: on September 20, 2010, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic and on April 19, 2012, to attend Leonid Tibilov's inaugural ceremopny.
"The legal-treaty basis gets refined: 64 documents have been signed. About 40 other treaties and agreements are currently in the works. An intergovernmental agreement on international automobile traffic will be signed within the framework of the present visit: the agreement will create prerequisites for expansion of foreign trade and facilitate people's travel," the press service official said.
The Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on socio-economic cooperation plays an important role in the work for assistance to South Ossetia (The IGC is co-chaired on the Russian side by Alexander Khloponin, Vice-Premier and presidential plenipotentiary representative in the North Caucasian Federal District, and on the South Ossetian side by Rostislav Khugayev, the Republic's Head of Government). The coordination of work within the scope of the IGC is assigned to the Russian Ministry for Regional Development. The IGC held five sessions, with the latest one held in Moscow on March 2, this year.
"During the conversation, the leaders are to discuss ways to strengthen trade-and-economic interaction. (Bilateral) Goods turnover in 2011 ran at $65.419 million, or 44.1 percent more than in 2010. Russia has a favourable balance of payments amounting to $64.3 million. In the first half of 2012, trade amounted to $33 million (export ran at $32.4 million, and import at $606,000)," the press service official said.
An Inter-Agency Commission (IAC) on the devrlopment of cooperation with the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of South Ossetia was set up by Presidential Decree dated June 30, this year. (The IAC is co-chaired by Tatiana Golikova, Assistant to the RF President, and Rashid Nurgaliyev, Deputy Secretary of Russia's Security Council).The main task of the IAC is to coordiante joint efforts in socio-economic development.
Interaction in the field of education is also gaining in scope: 116 scholarships for studies in Russia's institutions of higher learning were granted to South Ossetia in the 2011/2012 academic year and 172 scholarships are to be granted in the 2012/2013 period. South Ossetian students also undergo training at ministerial educational establishments (those of Defence Ministry, the Ministry for Emergencies, etc.) free of charge.
The opening of a Russian center of science and culture in Tskhinval on September 30, this year, was an important event in the humanitarian sphere. Constituent entities of the RF also evince interest in establishing contacts with the Republic which signed interregional cooperation agreements with Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Novosibirsk, Arkhangelsk, Tambov, and Voronezh Regions, the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, the Karachai Cherkessia, the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area, and a number of other regions.
"The Presidents of Russia and the Republic of South Ossetia may touch upon matters aimed at ensuring regional security, including that in the context of the internal political situation in Georgia after the recent parliamentary elections (there)," the Kremlin press service official pointed out.