On April 10, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, met with the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia to the Russian Federation, Mr. Cham Ugala Uryat.
"Entrepreneurship in Russia and Moscow has centuries-old traditions. Everything we enjoy in Moscow is created by entrepreneurs. There are about 900 thousand of them registered in the capital now. Together with the self-employed, they provide 25% of the budgeted revenue. Recognition needs to be given to the authorities, who continue to create conditions for the promotion of entrepreneurship", - opened the meeting Mr. Platonov. He added that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry is ready for close cooperation between entrepreneurs of Russia and Ethiopia - the two countries that are united by decades of friendly relations. There is an understanding that it is difficult to achieve it without an Embassy. It is the source, which provides information about what Ethiopia is interested in, what directions are desirable to be pursued in order to develop entrepreneurial relations at the level of small and medium-sized businesses.
In his response, the Ambassador, Mr.Cham Ugala Uryat, noted the dynamic development of relations between Russia and Ethiopia, emphasizing that many Ethiopian students study in Russian Universities. The quality of education is evidenced by the fact that the two previous Ethiopian Ambassadors graduated from Soviet Educational Institutions. The Ambassador hopes that close contacts in Educational sectors will also assist in developing trade and economic relations between the two countries. "When we talk about Russia, we first of all mean the capital, - Moscow. The political and economic capital of Russia has a huge potential for business development," the Ambassador said. He expressed hope that, with the help of the MCCI, Ethiopia’s capacity will be exhibited in the Russian market as a potential partner in tourism.
"I consider such direct contacts with African countries are very important for us," asserted Mr. Platonov, "it is necessary to create conditions for our entrepreneurs to directly reach the producing countries". He reminded that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with the support of the Committee of Public Relations and Youth Policy of Moscow is implementing an educational project - the School of Entrepreneurship for foreign students of Moscow Universities "Start your business with Moscow". Those foreign students, studying in Russia, are introduced to businessmen, interested in developing contacts with their home countries. "This is a springboard, on which to build further relationships. It is more profitable to pay extra for a student than to open an office," the President of the MCCI is certain.
Mr. Konstantin Anastasiadi, the Chairman of the MCCI Commission for Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, said that work is underway to organize a business mission to Ethiopia and the neighbouring countries in order to "economically strengthen the political trends that have developed between our states". He also noted that the two friendly countries should not trade through intermediaries. For instance, until recently, flowers from Ethiopia came to the Russian market from Holland. He expressed a wish that during the business mission, meetings with people, who are directly involved with the flower market, should be organized. Mr. Anastasiadi emphasized that today, logistics is the weakest link in the relationship between Russian business and its loyal partners.
Mr. Igor Galkanov, a member of the MCCI Commission for Foreign Economic Cooperation with Partners in Sub-Saharan Africa, said in his speech that the work on the preparation of the business mission is very active and, in the coming days, the firms, ready for travelling to Moscow, will be identified. "We strive to achieve maximum efficiency in this business mission and, therefore, we want the partners to identify the issues they are interested in and the partners they are traveling to. Then the efficiency will be greater," he said.
The participants of the meeting then took their time to discuss possible areas of cooperation between Moscow and the Ethiopian entrepreneurs.