Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Japanese ex prime minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday

Tuesday, January 19, 2021

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The two men have had friendly relations for several years, and Mori co-chairs the Council of the Wise Men, set up upon the decision of President Putin and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, taken during their meeting in Thailand at the APEC summit in October 2003. The Council was designed as a small structure comprising a few influential public figures who would be able to come up with new ideas for cooperation in the economic, humanitarian and scientific areas. The Russian co-chairman of the body is Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov. The total number of members is fourteen, i.e. seven from each party. Besides, Luzhkov, Russia is represented by the world's first woman in space Valentina Tereshkova, president of the Kurchatov Institute scientific center Yevgeny Velikhov, rector of Moscow State University Viktor Sadovnichy, vice speaker of the parliament's lower chamber Georgy Boos, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Arkady Volsky and president of the Rosneft oil company Sergei Bogdanchikov. The Japanese members of the Council are Yoshiro Mori, the well-known Russia researchers, professors Nobuo Shimotomai and Akihiko Tanaku, president of the Japan Business Federation Hiroshi Okuda, head of the Association for Trade with Russia and Central-Eastern Europe Tasuku Takagaki, columnist of the Nihon Keizai newspaper Yasuhiro Tase, and gold medallist of the Olympic Games in Los Angeles, judoist Yasuhiro Yamashita. The wise men work out recommendations for the Russian and Japanese authorities. The Council has already held two meetings. Receiving the participants of the first one in the Kremlin in April 2004, Putin awarded Mori with the Order of Friendship. He noted that the ex prime minister had spent many years "working on expanding the business and cultural cooperation between our countries and achieved significant success in this respect." The second meeting of the Council was held in early February 2005 in Tokyo

Bookmark Russian President Vladimir Putin will meet Japanese ex prime minister Yoshiro Mori on Tuesday