MOSCOW, September 3. /TASS/. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin sent a welcome telegram to participants and guests of the third Eastern Economic Forum. The telegram’s text was published on the Kremlin’s website on Sunday.

"I would like to extend my warm greetings to all participants and guests of the Third Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok," the telegram reads.

"The Russian Far East’s proximity to the large and rapidly growing Asia-Pacific market, its wealth of resources and unspoilt natural environment, and the unparalleled transport, logistics and industrial potential to be found here are all attracting increasing international attention. This is confirmed by the growing number of Forum participants: officials, business leaders, scientists, and experts from a variety of countries.

"Russia is faced with an ambitious target: to provide the best possible conditions for doing business in the Far East, to launch new manufacturing capabilities, and to create additional jobs. It is with this objective in mind that advanced special economic zones have been set up, offering tax incentives, simplified government regulation and oversight, and extensive infrastructure. More than 700 Russian and foreign companies are already taking advantage of these benefits, working on a range of highly promising projects in the Far East. We expect the number of such initiatives to increase as a result of this Forum.

"Russia’s Far Eastern strategy is based on openness to collaboration and an interest in promoting the broadest possible international cooperation. As such, the theme of working together within multilateral structures such as the Eurasian Economic Community, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, ASEAN, and APEC takes up, by tradition, an important part of the Forum’s agenda. I am confident that your discussions will facilitate the development of effective models for combining various integration processes, and will help us to move further towards creating a Greater Eurasian partnership."

"I wish you all the best and a successful and productive Forum," the president said in conclusion.

Eastern Economic Forum

The forum is the biggest international communication platform for cooperation between businesses, political and expert communities from Russia, the Pacific Region and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The event organizers report confirmations received from 24 delegations, including representatives of China, Japan, Australian, Canada and the US, as well as European countries like the UK, Germany and others.

In 2016, the Forum gathered 3,500 participants, who presented 111 projects worth total investments of 2.2 trillion rubles ($37 billion). The forum's delegations signed 216 agreements worth 1.85 trillion rubles ($31 billion).

TASS is the event’s general information partner, an official photo hosting agency and moderator of the investment projects’ presentation zone.