ERINA, the Economic Research Institute for Northeast Asia, organized a two-day economic conference following the fifth plenary meeting of the Northeast Asia Economic Conference Organizing Committed. The meeting and conference took place in Niigata, Japan, on 27-29 January 2002.
The Organising Committee includes individuals from governments, academic institutions and international organizations who meet twice a year to discuss a wide range of issues relating to regional economic cooperation in nnortheast Asia. The Committee was established by the Niigata prefectural government in 199; ERINA serves as its secretariat.
The two-day conference was opened by Mr. Lkuo Hirayama, Governor of Niigata refecture. Keynote addresses were made by Mr. Tasuku Takagaki (Chairman, Japan Association for Trade with Russia and central-Eastern Europe and Senior Adviser, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi Ltd.) and H. E. Long Yongtu (VICE minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooepration, China). Mr. Takagaki focused on Russia-Japan economic relations, whereas H. E. Long Yongtu spoke about cooperation in Northeast Asia and China's entry to the World Trade Organisation.
The successful conference included panel discussions on trade and investment with a focus on information technology, development finance, and the environment. There was also a meeting of transport experts to discuss realization of the Northeast Asian transport corridor, and valuable seminars on energy and trade and investment.
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