On November 22, the Russian-Austrian business forum was opened in the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry with the participation of a representative Austrian delegation of 26 companies, led by the Vice President of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Mr. Richard Shenz.
Opening the meeting, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, noted that recently conducted the “Days of Moscow in Vienna” had been a success and aroused great interest among business circles of Austria. "And only a few days later, a representative delegation is visiting Moscow with a return visit, which says a lot about the development of relations between Russia and Austria, even in difficult political conditions. At the level of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry we are advancing "people's diplomacy", which is called upon to develop dialogue and strengthen cooperation”, Mr. Platonov said.
The Deputy Head of the Austrian diplomatic mission in Russia, Minister Stefan Weidinger, stressed that, despite differences in political positions, Russia and Austria are closely cooperating, trade is growing, reciprocal tourism and student exchange are actively developing. The next year will be the Year of Music Exchange between Austria and Russia.
The Vice President of the Federal Economic Chamber of Austria, Mr. Rihard Shents, noted that the arrival of the delegation is related to the stable interest of Austrian companies, seeking cooperation with Russia. "Although the level of the trade turnover of 6.6 billion euro, which was recorded in 2013, is currently difficult to achieve, both sides are moving in this direction. In the period from January to August, 2017, imports of goods from Austria increased by 25%, and from Russia - by 18%, with the structure of foreign trade being highly diversified, "said Mr. Shenz. He also stressed the great importance of the EAEC area for the development of cooperation, noting the high consumer market capacity of 190 million people.
The trade adviser of the Austrian embassy in the Russian Federation, Mr. Rudolf Lukavski, said that Austrian companies invested the total of about 6 billion euros in Russia - these are enterprises, engaged in wood processing, pulp and paper industry, food industry, extractive industries, automotive industry. Russian investments in the Austrian economy reached 22 billion euro. According to Mr. Lukavski, about 600 Austrian companies are doing business in Russia. "There exist good conditions for localization in Moscow, many enterprises are being modernized, and Austrian business can offer new technologies - this is a mutually beneficial cooperation," Rudolf Lukavski said.
The general director of LLC "Balashova, Brook and Partners", Mr. Paul Brook, noted that today, in Russia, there are about 5.8 million entrepreneurs, who are looking for opportunities for cooperation. He cited facts: the e-commerce market in Russia has the greatest potential in Europe, the Media Markt network decided to double the number of branches in Russia, BMW is opening a plant. Moreover, a company localized in Russia, due to the weakened ruble exchange rate, can profitably produce for export.
The Director of the State Enterprise "Agency for Industrial Development of the City of Moscow", Ms. Christina Volkonitskaya, presented the potential of Moscow in localizing production, including technology parks. She presented to the participants of the meeting the entire list of tax benefits and opportunities for obtaining state support, including promotion of export-oriented products. Possibilities of localization in the techno park "Strogino" were presented by its Head, Mr. Sergey Teplov.
Within the framework of the forum, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the MCCI and the company "Christophe RU". Moscow’s and Austrian partners conducted direct B2B-talks.