Infrastructure On Kuril Islands Must Be Improved To Boost Tourism - Russian Government

ITURUP (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2021) The Kuril Islands need infrastructure development in order to attract more tourists, Dmitry Grigorenko, Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of the Government Staff, said during a visit to Iturup island.

"Tourism here is quite specific, but that's what's special about it. There are a lot of impressive locations here. The development of tourism requires a little logistics, infrastructure, PR, because many places are unknown to the general public," Grigorenko said.

In early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced at the Eastern Economic Forum that Moscow will introduce an unprecedented 10-year tax relief for businesses based in the Southern Kuril Islands (Japan claims them as its own Northern Territories).

The tax concessions are available for Russian businessmen as well as foreign investors.

Nikolay Nozdrev, the director of the Russian foreign ministry's third Asian department, said in an interview with Sputnik on Friday that Russia welcomes foreign investors, including Japanese, who are willing to participate in joint economic activities in the disputed Kuril Islands.

Relations between Russia and Japan have long been complicated by the fact that they have never signed a permanent peace treaty following World War II. The main stumbling block is their dispute over a group of four islands � Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan, and Habomai. Both countries are currently making efforts to finalize the peace treaty.