Foreign Relations

Within 2001 the basic trends of the international cooperation of the republic were bilateral relations with the partners from Finland, Sweden, and Norway, the work within the framework of the international inter-regional organizations in the regions of the Baltic and the Barents seas, initiation and support of the projects by the European Union.

As before, the basic emphasis was made on attraction of additional financial assets in social sectors: public health services, social protection of the population, education, and culture.

In the past year financing of 34 new international projects on the total sum of 6.8 million US dollars has been started.

Besides, through training programs and international exchanges about 300 inhabitants of the republic have worked on probation, studied, taken part in the exchange programs at the expense of foreign grants and scholarships.

The certain help for the needy and socially unprotected layers of the population became the allocated humanitarian and technical help in the volume of 1667 tons for the sum of 1 million 150 thousand US dollars received by the republic. Thus, attraction of additional unappropriated means by the international relations in 2001 can be valued at 13.9 million US dollars including 6 million Euro for construction of the international automobile entry point "Suopera" in Louhsky region, on which the official decision of the Commission of the European Union has been accepted.

Within the year the republic has carried on active dialogue with the federal Center on the problems of the international activity, frontier cooperation, arrangement of the Russian of Finnish border. Our materials and offers were claimed and used by preparation and realization of the visits to Finland of the President of Russia V.V.Putin, the Prime Minister M.M.Kasianov, the Minister for Foreign Affairs I.S.Ivanov, the Minister of Economic Development and Trade O.G.Gref .

Consultations on the problems of cooperation of Russia with Finland have passed during visits to Karelia by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Russia in May and by the president of Russia in August. The significant international resonance had in 2001 the days of culture of India and Byelorussia in Karelia, the international conference of the State Duma of Russia and Northern Council "Cooperation of Nordic countries with the Northwest Russia", and signing of the Agreement with the World organization of public health services on the problems of preventive maintenance of AIDS.

In October of the past year the teamwork with the Federal boundary service has been completed and the new (smaller on the sizes) border zone has been established in the republic. Foreign trade activities of the republic in 2001 was characterized by the further growth of the foreign trade turnover begun in 2000.

The foreign trade turnover of 2001 has made 810 million dollars and has increased by more than 4% in comparison with the previous year. Thus, growth of the foreign trade turnover has been achieved, mainly, due to increase of the export that had reached 654 million dollars (growth by 9%).

Parameters of import in 2001 have decreased by 11% due to reduction of volumes of the cellulose imported in the republic for processing and objective falling of parameters of 2000 on return of the foreign-going vessel to the administration of the White Sea - Onego Navigation Company.

In the past year the growth of such groups of the exported goods as newprint (+10%), cellulose sulphatic (+13%), and the raw forest products (14%) has been marked. Simultaneously the export of saw-timbers has decreased by 5%.

In 2001 due to the beginning of the slump in production in economics there was a reduction of prices of the number of the goods of the Karelian export. So, the prices for cellulose were reduced by 37%, kraft-paper - by 15%, aluminium - by 10%, that has had an effect on the financial condition of the enterprises.

As a whole in the commodity structure the export group "paper newspaper and kraft-paper" makes 33%, "raw and processed forest products" makes 25%, and "black and nonferrous metals" makes 13%.

The certain positive results in development of cooperation with Byelorussia have been achieved, the export in which has increased by 80% in comparison with 2000. The increase of the export brings the essential budgetary income to the republic.

22 new enterprises with foreign investments, which partners are the companies from Finland, Germany, Norway, Turkey, Estonia, and Lithuania have been registered in 2001 in the republic.

Within the year the permanent work on keeping the entry points including the simplified points in proper order, arrangement and uninterrupted functioning in the interests of the enterprises and frontier regions was accomplished.

The amount of the working simplified points has resulted in the optimum number of 7 that now is enough for the work of the exporting logging enterprises.

The Government has developed the new Program of arrangement of automobile entry points on the border for the years 2002-2006.

International and Interregional Cooperation