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Eastern Economic Forum

Bill on Vladivostok Free Port simplified visa regime expected in autumn

MOSCOW, 26 August. / TASS /. The Russian government will submit a draft law on a simplified visa regime for entering the territory of the Free Port of Vladivostok, to the parliament this autumn, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev said in an interview with TASS.

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He was speaking ahead of the Second Eastern Economic Forum.

The simplified visa regime envisages getting an eight-day visa on the border, he said.

Simplified visa regime for the Free Port of Vladivostok was expected to become effective from July 1, 2016. According to Trutnev, the delay in its introduction was due to complication of the situation with migration in the world, which requires a more thorough preparation of the bill.

"We have not introduced a simplified visa regime for the Free Port of Vladivostok. It is not because we are lazybones. This is because the situation in the world has become more complicated, migration flows have become a significant phenomenon in the modern world, and when it comes to simplification of the visa regime, it is necessary to measure literally every centimeter of movement and to check everything," Trutnev said.

"Soon the State Duma (lower house of parliament - TASS) will resume work and we will submit the draft law. We must honestly say to the investor that we're late, but we did our work, and in the near future changes in the law will be made," the Deputy Prime Minister said, stressing that proposals to amend the legislation have already been agreed with the President.

According to its creators, the Free Port of Vladivostok should become the main transit point for goods between the northern and southern provinces of China, as well as other countries in the Asia-Pacific region due to shorter transport arm.

Besides a simplified visa regime the free port regime also includes simplified customs procedures for transit goods and tax breaks for its residents.

Currently, the authorities of Russia’s Far East are testing the system for electronic processing of visas in remote form. After that it will be necessary to equip checkpoints. At the same time, regional authorities want to prevent arrival of illegal migrants to Russia.

In the future, the authorities plan to extend duty-free port regime to other territories of Russia’s Far East.

The 2nd Eastern Economic Forum will be held on the campus of Russia’s Federal Far-Eastern University on the Isle of Russky off the coast of Vladivostok. Its organizers expect the arrival of no less than 2,400 participants, in particular delegations from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Vientnam, Australia, the US, Singapore and other countries.

They will discuss mechanisms and tools to support businesses, infrastructure and energy projects.

For the first time the EEF was held in September last year, it was concluded more than 80 large investment contracts worth more than 1.3 trillion rubles ($20 bln).

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