In September 1993, a new joint venture 

 called "SOFKO" was registered in the city of 

 Nakhodka in the Russian Far East. The 

 venture partners are the Russian kolkhoz 

 Tikhii Okean (Pacific Ocean), and the South 

 Korean companies Samsung and Oyang 

 Fisheries. The main goals of the J/V will be 

 the processing and selling of fishery products, 

 vessel repair and construction, and the 

 development of Nakhodka's infrastructure.'- 

 The Koreans are taking advantage of 

 Nakhodka's status as a Free Economic Zone 

 (FEZ) within the Russian Federation which 

 means that the J/V is exempt from certain 

 taxes, among other privileges. 



Taiwan: The former Soviet Union had few, 

 if any, contacts with Taiwan for 40 years. 

 Yeltsin reiterated Russia's official view of 

 Taiwan on September 15, 1992, emphasizing 

 that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China 

 and that the Russian Federation does not 

 maintain official inter-state relations with 

 Taiwan. Economic, scientific, and other 

 unofficial ties between Russia and Taiwan are 

 carried out by individual citizens and non- 

 governmental organizations.'-^ Russia, 

 however, has been downplaying the 

 significance of the current joint ventures to 

 avoid protests by the People's Republic of 

 China. 



The Russian Pacific Scientific Institute of 

 Fisheries and Oceanography (TINRO) and the 

 Taiwanese June Long Fisheries company 

 signed an agreement to mount an expedition 

 to study squid and fishery stocks in the South 

 Kuril island area starting in late July 1992. 

 The joint expedition stemmed from the 

 August 1991 bilateral fishery talks between 

 Russia and Taiwan at which both sides agreed 

 to cooperate in squid, cod, and saury 

 harvesting, processing, and research. The 

 signed agreement also allows Taiwanese 



fishing companies access to Russian waters 

 against the payment of a fee and it provides 

 for access to Taiwanese ports for maintenance 

 and repairs of Russian fishery vessels. 



The Overseas Fisheries Development 

 Council signed a memorandum of 

 understanding with the SOVRYBFLOT 

 organization in August 1991 allowing Taiwan 

 vessels to fish in the waters off Sakhalin 

 Island and the Kamchatka Peninsula. The 

 catch in the former Soviet zone, however, 

 was not very profitable and so the venture 

 was not renewed when it expired on 

 November 15, 1992. There are no 

 indications that Taiwan will seek future access 

 to the Russian EEZ in the near future.""* 



Thailand: A new joint venture was reportedly 

 established in Sakhalin between an unknown 

 Thai fishing company and a local Russian 

 company to jointly process fishery products.'^ 



C. EUROPE 



Bulgaria: The former Soviet Union concluded 

 three bilateral agreements with Bulgaria. (For 

 full details see the Bulgaria chapter.) These 

 agreements were likely more beneficial to 

 Bulgaria than to the USSR as the Soviets had 

 more to offer in terms of equipment and 

 expertise, but they also served a political 

 purpose. 



The Russian Federation, the successor 

 state to the USSR, is currently renegotiating 

 the 1978 Ocean Fishing Agreement concluded 

 between the USSR and Bulgaria. The final 

 draft of the agreement has not yet been 

 completed as of this writing."'' 



In June 1990, a Soviet-Bulgarian joint 

 venture. SOZOPOL-Kamchatka, was created 

 in the Russian Far Eastern city of 



117 



