A Lightning messenger focused on cooperation with China will be launched in the Russian Federation

In Russia, it is planned to launch a new messenger "Lightning", which will focus on cooperation between Russia, China and the BRICS countries in the fields of tourism, culture and business. Mikhail Tolpyshkin, General Director of Molniya, informed Izvestia about this on December 5.

According to him, this product is being created as a multifunctional digital platform. First of all, it will be useful for tourists who travel between Russia and China. This messenger will also allow for the formation of stable digital corridors between the two countries.

"In fact, the product as a whole is focused, of course, not only on tourists. The Lightning audience in the next stages includes several key segments. In addition to tourists who regularly travel between Russia and China, these are small and medium—sized businesses that work with Chinese goods," Tolpyshkin said.

He added that Western messengers are currently being blocked in China, and services that operate in China are aimed only at tourists. The CEO noted that Molniya will allow communication both in Russia and in other countries, including China.

"In the long term, we can expand to other BRICS countries, to the markets of Central Asia and the Middle East, and, accordingly, to various segments in these markets. This product may be interesting for the fields of education, culture, logistics, media and digital services," Tolpyshkin concluded.

Entrance route: Russia creates a transport corridor with China along the Lena River

To do this, a new port will be built in Yakutia and the river fleet will be updated.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on December 4 that the number of tourists from China is likely to increase due to the introduction of a visa-free regime by Russia. The diplomat added that such a decision would certainly stimulate tourist exchanges.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.