Putin: Stopping Outflow of Population From Russia’s Far East is Key Challenge

One of the key challenges for the government is stopping the depopulation of the Russian Far East, President Putin said.

VLADIVOSTOK (Sputnik) – Stopping the outflow of population from Russia’s Far East region in one of the country’s top priorities at the moment, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.

"This is one of the key challenges in the country today — namely, stopping the depopulation of regions of the Far East, including the Primorsky Territory," Putin said at a meeting with students in the eastern city of Vladivostok.

The president added that he believes that creating an effective system of training young professionals could attract people to the region.

“There is still a lot left to do to make it [Vladivostok] more beautiful than it is today,” Putin added.

Putin’s words come ahead of the 2016 Eastern Economic Forum that is set to kick off in Vladivostok on Friday and to last through Saturday. The forum is expected to attract some 2,500 participants, including those from China, Japan, South Korea, India, Vietnam, Australia, the United States and Singapore.