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RSPP headquarters hosted a conference on Russia – U.S. strategic partnership held by the Russian – American Business Council (RABC), its first ever since the establishment of the Council.
RSPP President Alexander Shokhin (Chairman of the RABC Board of Trustees), the Council President David Yakovashvili (RSPP Bureau member), Ambassador-at-Large for the Russian Foreign Ministry Eduard Malayan, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia Andrew Somers, and heads of Russian and U.S. companies discussed the outcome of ‘resetting’ the relations between the two countries.
The participants focused on Russia – US cooperation in trade and investments. Mr. Shokhin said that the mechanism to coordinate Russian and U.S. business structures had been fully established, as had been the business/authorities interaction.
RABC President David Yakobashvili emphasized that the Business Dialogue had always enjoyed support from the Presidential Administration, Foreign Affairs Ministry, Ministry for Economic Development, while Mr. Shokhin’s election as chairman of the Council Board of Trustees gave a new impetus to its activities. The council has been joined in its word by major business associations including RSPP, Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia), Opora Rossii (Russia’s Support), the Russian Chamber of Commerce etc.
As shown by an opinion poll held by the Council, the most efficient lines of cooperation are aviation, machine manufacturing, medical equipment, chemicals, environmentally friendly infrastructure and joint projects in personnel training.
Mr. Yakobashvili said: “Businesses believe that the key to a quantum leap in all of those fields is a corresponding legal groundwork. I speak of the signing of an agreement between Russia and US stimulating investments. Without such document, relations between our countries may stall”.
Andrew Somers, President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Moscow, said: “Our organizations must first of all discuss and focus on creating a milieu that will make it possible for us to carry out strategic transactions”. Mr. Somers pointed out that Russia is no easy market for investment. “Many excessive restrictions and regulations are still in place, making American companies choose other countries than Russia. This refers to localization, barriers to import of components and so on.”