The advanced development of the Far East is a national priority. We must continue to increase the rate of development, to develop the competitive advantages and the potential of the Far Eastern Federal District. We must ensure the economic development of the region and provide all the requisite resources, including energy.

According to some estimates, the coal reserves of the region can last up to 900 years. This is a considerable amount, and we will need to think about how to use it.

Our bilateral relations are progressing in all key areas, including the ties between our security agencies.

Today's anniversary Eastern Economic Forum is not just an occasion to take stock of joint actions of authorities, businessmen, and civil society, but also to outline future steps, our long-term plans in the Russian Far East to enhance its role both in the Russian economy and in the international relations system, primarily in the dynamically developing Asia-Pacific.

As you know, the development of the Russian Far East and Siberia was outlined as the national priority of Russia for the whole 21st century.

Over the past years, on many key indicators, primarily economy-wise, the Russian Far East has ranked top, outpacing the national rate.

For instance, over the past decade, the gross regional product of the Russian Far East has increased over 2.5 times from 4 trillion to 11 trillion rubles.

Over this period, the fixed capital of the Far Eastern companies and entreprises got 20 trillion rubles of investment.

We will continue the Eastern Railway Domain: the Baikal-Amur Mainline and the Trans-Siberian Railway. In 2023, their throughput capacity should be increased 1.5 times compared to the beginning of this year.

We are talking about making it easier to support businessmen, companies, and their new projects. In other words, no matter where an investor comes, in any region, city, or settlement of the Far Est or the Arctic, they will always be entitled to benefits.

Let me highlight: as we launch the single preferential regime, we will keep the terms for the active investors in the advanced development territories.

And why shouldn't we develop our UAV technologies in areas this vast? The threats that can sometimes arise in the densely populated regions of our country are not present here, and moreover, life itself dictates that we employ these technologies. <...>

I consider it possible to extend this experimental legal regime for unmanned systems to include all the regions of the Far East, expanding it first of all for such areas as the use of digital platforms, artificial intelligence, and data turnover.

The master plans are being implemented. As of today, within the framework of the master plans, 160 facilities have been constructed, including an embankment and a children's technological theme park in Komsomolsk-on-Amur, a stadium in Uland-Ude, and an indoor skating rink in Nakhodka. A shipyard was modernised and an embankment with a public garden built in Yakutsk. The construction of a territory-level hospital was completed in Kamchatka.

In the process of implementing the master plans, a lot depends on how good the cooperation with local authorities is run and, specifically, how much consideration they show for the aspects of managing agglomerations spanning several municipalities.

This is something that brings mutual benefits. As to prices, well, those prices are, first, market-based, and second, they are calculated on the basis of the same formula that we used to employ when providing gas to Europe. <...>

In the course of joint multi-year work done by Gazprom and Chinese partners, this outcome has been achieved. So once again I want to congratulate everybody on that. This is indeed one of the largest energy projects in the world.