Economic integration of the Russian Far East into the Asia-Pacific region has been making headway ever since Russia underwent a regime change, but many critical issues in such areas as trade, investment, and population movement have yet to be dealt with. Viable policy proposals on regional economic cooperation need to be put forward; toward that end, further light needs to be shed on Russia's bid to become a member of the WTO and on the situation in the Russian Far East and the larger Asia-Pacific region. In this context, the present project has organized a research team centered on personnel of the Economic Research Institute of the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, which is based in Khabarovsk. Enlisting the cooperation of other research institutes in the Asia-Pacific region, the team plans to draft policy recommendations concerning the Russian Far East's economic development strategy and regional integration.
This year Russian researchers conducted research on such subjects as energy security, Russia's entry into the WTO, and economic integration into the Asia-Pacific region. They discussed their findings with researchers from around the Asia-Pacific region at a workshop.