Joint Statement on the Results of the Seventh Session of the Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission

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June 23, 2009

In accordance with the arrangements between the Parties, the Seventh Session of the Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission (IEC) was held in Moscow on June 22-23, 2009.

The Canada-Russia IEC was co-chaired by the Honourable Viktor A. Zubkov, First Deputy Prime-Minister of the Government of the Russian Federation, and by the Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of International Trade of Canada. The delegations included senior officials of the federal ministries and agencies, of the regional/provincial administrations, and leading representatives of the business community of both countries.

Pursuant to recommendations of the Sixth Session of the Commission, the Seventh Session of IEC was held jointly with the annual meeting of the Canada-Russia Business Council (CRBC). The sessions of both entities were united under the title “Canada-Russia Business Summit 2009”.

The Co-Chairs outlined the substantial progress reached over the last two years in the field of bilateral trade relations in spite of the negative consequences of the world financial and economic crisis. The Parties welcomed the implementation of a number of joint projects in various sectors such as agriculture, energy, transportation, construction, mining and Arctic and North related industries. The Parties discussed ways to further facilitate direct investments between the two countries.

The Co-Chairs outlined new areas of cooperation set forth in the Joint Statement on Canada-Russia Economic Development, on November 29, 2007, paying special attention to new initiatives in areas such as finance, energy, Arctic and North, fisheries and agriculture.

The Co-Chairs expressed satisfaction with the status of bilateral trade and investment and with the considerable growth of trade turnover in 2008, and confirmed the important role of the IEC in promoting the development of diverse and long-term economic ties between the two countries.

The Co-Chairs agreed that the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi would significantly contribute to the development of the Russian economy and that Canadian companies involved in the preparation of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver could assist Russia in successfully developing the expertise and the infrastructure necessary for the preparation of the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi.

The Co-Chairs were briefed on the CRBC meeting by the Canadian and Russian Co-Chairs and Presidents of the Canada Eurasia Russia Business Association (CERBA) and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), respectively Mr. Piers Cumberlege and Mr. Alexander N. Shokhin. The Co-Chairs of the CRBC expressed satisfaction with the results of its committees’ discussions that took place on June 22, 2009, including focus on agriculture, mining, energy, finance, transportation, and information and communications technologies. They reiterated their commitments to continue working together to expand cooperation between Canadian and Russian business communities. They also agreed to hold the next CRBC meeting in Canada in 2011.

The Co-Chairs were also briefed on the results achieved during the IEC working groups’ sessions, also on June 22, 2009, including the mining, the energy, the agriculture, the construction, and the Arctic and North working groups.

The Co-Chairs confirmed the substantial role of the natural resources sector in Canada-Russia economic and trade relations. They noted that the subsoil resources management and its mining segment were important to maintain stable commercial relations between the two countries. They agreed that there were further prospects for expanding cooperation in the mineral sector, including by implementing new projects for the development and the production of Russian mineral resources, by expanding scientific cooperation, by continuing sharing knowledge and expertise, by strengthening ties between regions, and by jointly exploring partnerships in third countries.

The Co-Chairs noted that Canada and Russia, being the largest producers and exporters of energy, share many interests in developing national power engineering and supporting the successful operation of the world energy markets. Noting the need to increase the stability of world oil markets, the Co-chairs confirmed that they are open to the idea of participating together with other market players in preparations for a collective discussion on proposals and initiatives to improve the situation.

The Co-Chairs emphasized the significant potential and mutual interest to develop cooperation in the peaceful use of atomic energy, in the oil and gas sector, alternative sources of energy, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly technologies in power utilization.

The Co-Chairs noted that Canada and Russia maintain interest in developing bilateral relations in research and development of technologies in the sphere of nuclear energy as well as cooperation within the framework of the Global Partnership Programme.

The Co-chairs acknowledged that there is mutual interest in expanding cooperation in areas related to energy efficiency. These include strengthening legal instruments to increase energy efficiency as well as introducing new technologies for the development of alternative sources of energy.

The Co-chairs emphasized the significant potential and mutual interest to develop cooperation in the oil and gas sector, including in the trade of LNG and technologies aimed at the exploration and development of oil and gas deposits located in harsh climatic conditions.

The Co-Chairs agreed to continue cooperation between Canadian and Russian government bodies and to encourage and facilitate cooperation between other stakeholders, companies, educational and scientific institutions in the sphere of agriculture, including: livestock husbandry and pedigree breeding, poultry farming, agrarian education, scientific cooperation, rural development, as well as Sanitary and phytosanitary (veterinary) supervision.

The Parties highly appreciated the meetings between Ministers of Agriculture of Canada and Russia held in 2007, 2008, and 2009, and the bilateral working meetings between representatives of agribusiness, which allowed the presentation and discussion of positive examples of cooperation projects in livestock, swine and poultry breeding, fodder production and other areas.

Both sides agreed to discuss the possible participation of Canadian and Russian companies in projects to develop beef cattle breeding in Russian regions, including Tver oblast.

The Parties agreed to continue the negotiation process between the relevant authorized governmental bodies of Canada and Russia regarding Sanitary and Phytosanitary (veterinary) supervision with the aim of improving transparency and predictability in this area. This would facilitate trade and ensure that technical regulations and standards do not create unnecessary obstacles, and that outstanding issues can be addressed in a timely fashion.

The Parties noted that regular consultations between representatives of government agencies, and where possible, joint work within the framework of international agricultural organizations, as well as involvement of Canadian and Russian specialists in the industry’s exhibitions and fairs, will contribute to a more active and broader bilateral cooperation in agriculture.

The Parties confirmed interest in continuing cooperation in the agricultural machinery sector and recognize the importance of the arrangement between Canada’s Buhler Versatile and Russia’s Rosselmash to start the manufacture of high-efficiency Canadian tractors at the Rostov-on-Don combine harvester plant’s site in 2009.

The Parties welcomed a possible expansion of banking cooperation in the framework of structured and trade financing (project financing, import financing, pre-export financing, agreements on trade loans) in various sectors.

The Co-Chairs noted with satisfaction that over the last two years there has been a substantial revitalization of the bilateral cooperation in the construction sector, including study of the Canadian experience in mortgage lending. Canadian companies have provided numerous engineering and construction services in Russia, and Russian regional and municipal administrations have showed interest in Canadian construction technologies. As per the existing Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in 2006, the Parties have agreed to continue their cooperation in the areas of urban planning, low and high rise residential construction, bilateral trade promotions and technology exchanges, and housing finance. Building on the MOU, the Parties have also agreed to investigate the feasibility of a collaborative project in the area of construction costing metrics within the framework of reforming the pricing and cost estimate regulation system in construction being undertaken in Russia.

The Co-Chairs agreed to continue consultations to reconcile discrepancies between bilateral trade data generated by the national statistical bodies of Canada and Russia.

The Co-Chairs welcomed efforts to expand ties between scientific communities and expressed their full support for the conclusion of an intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in Science and Technology as well as emphasized the important contribution that the visit by the Russian Nanotechnology Corporation to Toronto in April 2009 made to these efforts.

The Co-Chairs agreed to foster the level of cooperation in the Arctic and the North notably by encouraging and facilitating the dialogue between interested regional entities to develop cross-polar air and sea routes. In this spirit, Canada and Russia are pleased to announce that a conference on northern transportation links will take place in Winnipeg, Manitoba next year. They also presented the example of the shipments of Russian fertilizers to the Canadian prairies via the Port of Churchill in 2007 and 2008 as a positive and concrete development. The Co-Chairs welcomed the joint efforts of Manitoba and Krasnoyarsk Region to create service conditions in the Arctic for civil aviation with the goal of facilitating transpolar air routes through the Arctic Ocean and territory of Krasnoyarsk region and other regions of the Russian Federation bordering Krasnoyarsk region).

The Co-chairs expressed satisfaction with the strong links that oil and gas stakeholders in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Murmansk Region have developed in areas related to overcoming harsh, Arctic offshore environments for oil and gas development. The also noted that the visit to St. John’s by a senior level delegation from Murmansk in June 2009, was an important step in achieving this progress.

The Co-Chairs acknowledged the increasing role of cooperation in the transportation equipment sector, with particular reference to Bombardier’s involvement in Russia’s rail sector, as well as recent announcement respecting Magna’s activities in Russia.

The Canadian and Russia Co-Chairs expressed satisfaction about the Memorandum of Understanding on training cooperation signed between the Railways Association of Canada and Russian Railways (RZhD).

The Co-Chairs acknowledged with satisfaction the rising level of cooperation between Canadian provinces and the Russian regions in the agriculture and agri-food, energy, mining, aerospace, information technologies, transport and construction sectors.

The two sides have agreed to consider the possibility of holding a future meeting of the Canada-Russia Intergovernmental Economic Commission in the Yamalo-Nenetsk Autonomous Okrug.

While noting certain progress, the Co-Chairs called for continued efforts to improve visa regimes in place to ease and promote the movement of Canadian and Russian business and academic representatives between the two countries notably by reducing the timeframe necessary to process visa applications.

The Co-Chairs agreed to hold Eighth Edition of the IEC in Canada in 2011. The Co-Chairs agreed to consider a possible meeting in 2010.

 

Minister of International Trade of Canada, Chairman of the Canadian Part of the IEC
S. Day

First Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation, Chairman of the Russian Part of the IEC
V.A. Zubkov