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29.06.07

The Russian Venezuelan business forum “New Prospects of Development of Trade and Economic Relations”

On June 29, 2007 the Russian Venezuelan business forum “New Prospects of Development of Trade and Economic Relations” was held at the Congress Centre of the RF CCI. President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chavez and a large delegation of people from Venezuelan ministries, authorities and state companies attended the forum. The forum caused much interest of Russian business with more that 250 people from the fuel and energy sector. Petrochemical, mining, automobile, aviation and heave machine industries, railroad transport, tourism and educational sphere from Moscow, St.Petersburg, Nizhni Novgorod, Penza, Perm, Kursk, Oryol, Volgograd, Tatarstan, Chuvashia and other parts of Russia were in attendance.

Opening the forum RF CCI president E.Primakov said that over the past previous years Russian-Venezuelan relations developed especially rapidly in the oil and gas industry, but nevertheless Russian business was much interested in diversifying areas of interaction, transfer of advanced Russian technologies, investments into mutually beneficial projects and building long-term cooperation. E. Primakov noted that Russian business goes to Venezuela realising its social responsibility, implementing a number of socially significant projects, especially in Venezuela’s remote and underdeveloped regions.
RF CCI president drew the attention of the forum participants to the fact that Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez was meeting Russian business people for a third time. These meetings were giving a boost to the development and strengthening of the bilateral trade and economic cooperation. In this connection he expresses his hope that the Russian-Venezuelan business forum would define new concrete directions and projects to work on together.
As a significant instrument of assistance to the establishment of direct contacts between companies in the two countries E.Primakov singled out the Recently established Russia – Venezuela Entrepreneurial Council, whose Russian chapter is headed by A.Kuziayev, president of LUKOil Overseas company.

Speaking at the forum, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Hugo Chavez told about the economic policies of his government that aims to improve the economic situation of Venezuelans and strengthening the role of the state in strategically important branches of economy, as well as increasing the significance of his country in the regional and international policies.
President Hugo Chavez spoke about the interest his country had in furthering and developing trade and economic partnership with Russia. Having confirmed the importance of collaboration in the area of fuel and energy, inclusive of prospecting, extraction, transport and storage of oil and natural gas, where Russia’s Gazprom and LUKoil are closely cooperating with the Venezuelan PDBVSA company, President Chavez spoke about the interest of his country in diversification of areas of interaction, in obtaining advanced Russian technologies, establishing in Venezuela of companies for joint manufacturing of machines, equipment, different vehicles to meet the requirements of both Venezuela and other Latin American countries.

President Chavez informed the meeting of his intention to send to Russia in September 2007 a delegation of Venezuelan entrepreneurs for an in-depth discussion of a number of concrete projects that the current forum looked into. President Chavez also invited RF CCI president E.Primakov to bring to Caracas a delegation of Russian businessmen in October for the holding of the high-rank 4th session of the Intergovernmental Russian-Venezuelan commission.

A representative of Venezuelan Customs Service also spoke at the forum telling its participants about the tariff and customs regulations of Venezuela’s foreign trade activities. He informed the meeting about principal taxes and dues payable by foreign capital and said that Venezuela had fulfilled all the necessary formalities for the enforcement of the Intergovernmental Russian-Venezuelan Convention on avoidance of double revenue taxation. A speaker from the state Venezuelan PDVSA Company spoke about his country’s plans to develop Venezuela’s oil and natural gas complex.
Concrete proposals of the Russian companies were presented to the Venezuelan forum participants during “round-table” discussions on cooperation in the fuel and energy area, industry and the banking sector.

Department for International Cooperation

15.06.07

The 5th Session of the Council of Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the CIS states was held in Tbilisi (Georgia)

On June 15,2007 the 5th Session of the Council of Heads of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the CIS states was held in Tbilisi (Georgia).

A representative delegation of the RF CCI led by the Chamber President Evgeni Primakov attended the session. The official delegation included B.Pastukhov RF CCI Senior vice-president, V.Serov, chairman of the RF CCI Committee on Economic Integration of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and the CIS countries, V.Katenev, president of the St.Petersburg CCI, A.Kuprianov, the RF CCI presidential aide, Yu.Morozov, Director of the Department for the activities of RF CCI Business Councils. The delegation was accompanied by a group of experts comprised of the managers and representatives of a number of Russian authorities and organizations, as well as some of the RF CCI departments.

During the plenary session key issues of the activities of the Council were discussed. Issues of practical assistance to export-oriented small and medium-sized enterprises (based on the RF CCI expertise) and prospects of cooperation in this area; development of cooperation among the CCIs of the CIS countries in the area of international commercial arbitrage and arbitration tribunals (a permanent consultative body has been formed by the Council for this type of activities and regulations of its operations have been worked out).
The issues of implementation of the agreements signed by the Council and prospects of interaction in such directions as the installment of a unified “CCI EXPERT CIS” system, exchange of business information fair and exhibition activities and rearing cadres for business were also discussed.
The Council assigned the CCI CIS Committee on expertise and performance appraisal of experts to prepare a plan to develop Rules of holding commodity expertise and the installment of a unified document turnover as well as working out a concept of training instructors and experts on commodity expertise.
It was also decided to set up a sub-Committee on the certification of the country of origin of commodities.

In the area of exchange of business information the Council recommended that the chambers of commerce and industry of the CIS countries switch their Internet portals “Business Information: CCIs of the CIS countries” from October of 2007 into the regime of industrial exploitation, providing administering and support of its national sections and adding the section “Education” to it.
As for the cooperation in the area of fair and exhibition activities, the Council backed the idea of holding in Moscow in 2008 of a Congress on exhibition activities of the CIS countries under its aegis, as well as the suggestion about effecting patronage over the most significant fair and congressional events, to be held in the CIS countries with the participation of the CIS CCI.
The RF CCI was assigned to work out Regulations on Patronage to be approved by the Council, whereas the working Expert group on fair and exhibitions was assigned to prepare suggestions on boosting the activities of CIS exponents in international specialized exhibitions and fairs to be held in the CIS countries.

Having looked into problems of cooperation in the area of training cadres for business the Council decided to form a special Working Group to implement the Concept of business cadre training, and recommended that information about educational institutions, training programmers and projects in the pipeline, including international projects be placed in the Section “Education” of the Internet portal “Business information of the CIS CCIs”.
In the interests of confirming the authority of the CCIs of the CIS countries to issue certificates of commodity origin, the Council dispatched corresponding suggestions from the CIS CCIs to the Working Group of the Commission on Economic Issues under the CIS Economic Council with an eye to preparation of a new version of Rules of Identification of the Country of Origin of Commodities.
The Council also made the decision to dispatch to the legislatures and executive bodies of a number of CIS countries an appeal to grant their national chambers of commerce and industry authority to issue certificates of commodity origin certificates. The best performing operators were then awarded diplomas of the Council “For the Active Participation in the Fair and Exhibition Activities.”

Within the framework of the stay in Georgia of the RF CCI delegation, a meeting between RF CCI president E.Primakov and Georgia’s president M.Saakashvili and prime-minister Z.Nogaideli took place.
The leaders of the delegations of the chambers of commerce and industry were also received by Georgia’s prime-minister Z.Nogaideli. In line with the Regulations, president of the CCI of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kozhasbai Erlan Sadvakovich was elected Chairman of the Council for the next term. It was decided to hold the regular 6th session of the Council in Kazakhstan in June of 2008.

RF CCI Department for operations with Business Councils

31.05.07

Russian-Greek Business Forum

May 31, 2007 the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a Russian-Greek Business Forum within the framework of the official visit to the Russian Federation of Greece’s President Carlos Papoulias.
Taking part in the event were Greek President, and Russian CCI President Evgeni Primakov.

In his speech of welcome E.Primakov stated that the relations between Greece and Russia have ages of history. The cultural and religious proximity of the two nations predetermine spiritual kinship of both Russians and Greeks. The positions of the leadership of our two countries on the burning issues of the present-day world are either coincidental or close.
The political will makes the firm foundation of the development of trade and economic relations between Russia and Greece. Mutual trade is on the rise, with the 2006 trade turnover exceeding $3 bln. Mutual investments are made and tourism is developing. The key place in the mutual cooperation is given to the interaction in the energy area where the most significant project for the near future is the construction of the Burgas-Alexandrouplis oil pipeline.
The meetings between Russian and Greek entrepreneurs play an especial role in the achievement of these results. In the past 2 years Russia’s CCI held three business forums with Greek partner organizations.
E.Primakov stressed that the potentialities of trade and economic relations has been far from being used to the full.
Given the importance of supplies of Russian oil and natural gas, development of the tourism and the continuation of cooperation in the agricultural sphere, more attention should be given to increasing investments, developing ties in the area of innovations and high technologies as well as regional contacts.

In his speech the Greek president mentioned that trade and economic relations form a firm foundation of traditionally close ties between Russia and Greece. Greece is interested in cooperation with Russia (where the key moment is the tripartite project of the Transbalkan oil pipeline,) housing and industrial construction, tourism and supplies of Greek wines and other agricultural produce to the Russian market. The Greek president also informed the forum participants about the signing of a Russian-Greek programme of joint activities for 2007-2009 during his official visit.
In the business part of the forum A.Lavidis, General Secretary of Greek Federation of Industry, P. Cavoulakos, a member of the Board of the Greek Federation of Industry and A.Simeonoglu, Chairman of the Greek Investment Centre gave the forum participants concrete information about the role Greece plays as a South-Eastern Europe business centre, its investment potential and potentialities of bilateral cooperation in the power sphere. The staff of the Russian CCI spoke to the forum participants about the services the Chamber renders to foreign and Russian entrepreneurs; the investment climate in the present-day Russia and the potentialities the Chamber has to render its services to foreign investors.

RF CCI Foreign Cooperation Department.

12.04.07 A founding meeting of the Russian chapter of the Russian Libyan Business Council (RLBC) was held at the Presidium Hall of the RF CCI.

The agreement on the establishment of the Council was signed in St.Petersburg on September 4, 2006 within the framework of the RBBC Sixth Joint Session.

The delegation held negotiations with the leaders of the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, based on the results of which the Agreement on Cooperation between the CCIs of Russia and Latvia was signed.

The signatories were RF CCI president Ye. Primakov and the RADV Executive Director A.Nikkonen.

Attending the forum were Slovakia’s President Ivan Gashparovich, RF CCI President Evgeni Primakov, Slovakia’s Foreign Minister Yan Kubish, Slovakia’s Economy Minister Lyubomir Yakhnatek, RF CCI vice president Georgi Petrov, and Russian and Slovak business people.

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