MOSCOW, November 5. /TASS/. Moscow and Tokyo are preparing 30 joint projects for signing during the December visit of the Russian president to Japan, including in urban realm improvement, medical equipment production and developing advanced technologies, Japanese Minister for Economic Cooperation with Russia Hiroshige Seko said in an interview with TASS.

Seko, who was appointed to the post in September ahead of the visit of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Vladivostok for the Eastern Economic Forum, held a number of meetings in Moscow on November 3-4. Some 30 priority projects were selected and the agreements on them may be signed during the meeting of Vladimir Putin with Abe.

"I should fill this meeting with worthy content on the economic issues and that’s why we are preparing around 30 projects so that as many companies as possible could sign the respective documents in the presence of the two leaders," Seko said.

During his visit to Russia in May, Abe put forward an eight-point plan to develop relations between the two countries. It envisages fostering relations between Japan and Russia in the energy sector, developing cutting-edge technologies, small and medium-sized businesses and the promotion of the industrialization of the Far East.

The relations between Russia and Japan have been actively developing this year despite the Kuril Islands dispute and the lack of a peace treaty between the two countries. Seko stressed that the Japanese side lays hopes on the visit of the Russian leader.

"The Japanese put high hopes on this visit, the first official visit of the Russian president to Japan over the past 11 years. I should say that our people sincerely wish that the two leaders, Vladimir Putin and Shinzo Abe, could discuss all issues open-heartedly.".