During May 16-27, USAID’s FOREST and ESD Projects – managed by Winrock International -- together with R.E. Taylor & Associates organized a two-week trade mission and business tour of the Russian Far East forestry and wood products manufacturing industry. The tour was designed for North American and overseas forestry companies, lumber purchasers and potential investors interested in learning more about Russia’s forests, timber availability, softwood species, wood products manufacturing capabilities, lumber quality, potential suppliers, and export opportunities particularly for wood products produced in Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy krai. The organization of this tour was follow-on based upon the previous successful experience and results of a similar tour conducted in Siberia during 2004. The tour group included 17 representatives from North American and specifically US companies including Weyerhauser, USNR as well as American companies with overseas offices in China.  During the tour participants visited 15 forest industry enterprises in Khabarovskiy and Primorskiy krai and had a chance to meet with high level Russian managers, evaluate the technology, product quality and understand the types of resources which are available, as well as licensing procedures, production and transportation costs, etc.

In May, 2005 Sakhalin BISNIS representative visited Offshore Technology Conference in Houston, TX (May 03-04) to meet with the participants interested in Russian and Russian Far Eastern markets. More than 20 individual meetings were held, BISNIS will follow-up on each company request to provide the information of interest to ITC participants. In Houston, BISNIS representative met with several companies already doing business on the island, who expressed interest in expanding their business in the Russian Far East. BISNIS stays in touch with these companies, exchanges information in order to be able to assist where possible in further business development on Sakhalin in particular. BISNIS Sakhalin representative participated in seminars held for US companies interested in business opportunities in the Russian Far East, Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Seminars took place in Jackson, Mississippi, and Nashville, Tennessee, followed by one-on-one meetings with interested companies. June will be devoted to follow-up with all clients met during this trip, the goal of the follow-up is to provide initial information, which can help companies to determine possible spheres of interest on the Russian market or help to find local partners. In May, BISNIS representative in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk visited local Construction Trade Show, met with the representatives of IBC Global Conferences (hosts of the annual Sakhalin Oil and Gas Conference, London) who recently visited Sakhalin.

On May 19 within the framework of U.S.-RFE Partnership program, project Preventive Maintenance of HIV Infection among Youth on Sakhalin held the opening of the Resource Center and presentation of the website in the HIV/AIDS Prevention Center in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The event was attended by the representatives of Sakhalin Region Administration, Sakhalin Energy Company, U.S. –RFE Partnership Program, Regional Initiative, medical and support personnel from the Center, volunteers and school children's teachers. Vyacheslav Penkovskiy, Deputy chief of  the Department of Health, Sakhalin Region Administration underlined the importance of  the event and told attendees that the Department of Health would replicate the experience of  Y-Sakhalinsk Resource Center to other Sakhalin cities. RI Coordinator spoke to the participants with warm words of welcome.