Juneau -- Good morning. This is Speaker of the House Brian Porter. I'd like to announce that the Russians are coming! And this time that's actually very good news for Alaska.

The Alaska Legislature is hosting a high ranking delegation of Russian visitors to the state this week. They'll be arriving late tonight and staying until next Monday, the 29th. While they are in-state, the group will be touring facilities in Anchorage, Juneau, and Kenai as well as meeting with public and private sector leaders.

We have had an ongoing protocol with the Sakhalin Regional Duma of the Russian Far East - that is the equivalent of our state legislature. The Sakhalin Duma has visited Alaska several times over the past few years and members of our legislature have reciprocated. Last fall, it was my pleasure to be part of the delegation that went to that interesting and, potentially for Alaska, important part of the world.

This year, it was discovered that the Sakhalin Duma's visit to Alaska coincided with a visit to Sakhalin by a delegation from the Russian Federation State Duma - that body is the equivalent of our U.S. Congress. The Russian State Duma delegation represents their committee on natural resources and their goal was to tour developments on Sakhalin Island.

That timing allowed us to extend our invitation to include the delegates from the Russian Federation State Duma. They have accepted and Representative Ramona Barnes, who chairs the house world trade and state/federal relations committee, and her committee members have enthusiastically agreed to host the entire delegation during their stay. This is an excellent opportunity for us to showcase not only Alaskan hospitality, but Alaskan oil and gas field knowledge and expertise. We want these high-ranking officials to see that Alaska is the best possible place for them to obtain the training, technical assistance, and partners they will need for joint venture operations in the Russian Far East and Siberia.

We hope very much to continue our ongoing, productive relationship with the Sakhalin Regional Duma. With oil prices at their current low levels and a financial crisis in Asia it is more important than ever to maintain and to further develop the close ties we now enjoy with our neighbors across the Bering Sea.

This is House Speaker Brian Porter. Thanks for listening.