The International conference on Priorities of the Baikal Region in Russia’s Asia Policy, dedicated to the 350th anniversary of the voluntary accession of Buryatia to the Russian state, is held on July 5-9 in Ulan-Ude.

The conference has been organized by the government of the Republic of Buryatia, IFC METROPOL and the Baikal Institute of Nature Management. Supporters include the Federation Council Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment, envoys of the President of the Russian Federation in the Siberian Federal District and the Far East Federal District, the administrations of Irkutsk and Trans-Baikal regions, the Far East and Transbaikalia interregional association and the Siberian and Far Eastern branches of the Russian Academy of Science.

The main goal of the conference is to devise recommendations and proposals on the socio-economic development of the Far East and Baikal region by supporting economic development and environmental security.

The conference will discuss a strategy for developing the economic potential of the Baikal region, factors of sustainable development, necessary conditions for effective economic development and environmental protection of the Baikal region, prospects for improving transport and energy systems in the Asian part of Russia, removing infrastructural constraints related to transport, energy, etc.

The forum will also discuss how to create mechanisms for balanced interregional and international cooperation and integration, issues related to development of energy resources in the Baikal region, use of renewable energy and development of tourism in the special economic zones following the example of Lake Baikal.