Foreign Minister Koichiro Genba said the Japan-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Issues had a meeting Nov. 20, and he jointly chaired the session with Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov.
Noting that trade between the two countries, which he said amounted to a record $30.7 billion last year, has the potential to grow much more, Genba told reporters he wants to help Japanese firms build confidence in Russia's markets.
"I intend to exchange opinions on the possibility of cooperation between Japan and Russia on a wide range of issues, such as cooperation in the (Russian) Far East and Siberia, energy and energy conservation," he said.
The last meeting of the bilateral committee on trade and economy was held in Moscow in February 2011. Genba and Shuvalov met in early September on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum gathering in Vladivostok.
