On June 2, an online round table was held, the topic being the "Prospects for cooperation with the Benelux countries in the post-Pandemic period".
"We want to show Moscow enterprises the opportunities that the Benelux countries - the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg offer them. The technologies that are being implemented in these countries today can be widely used in the course of implementation of projects for the development of international cooperation," said Mr. Suren Vardanyan, the Vice President of the MCCI, opening the event.
The Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands (this year, this Trade Mission celebrates its 75th anniversary), Mr. Andrey Makarov, spoke about the peculiarities of current relations between Russia and the Netherlands, opportunities and limitations of doing business.
According to him, the Netherlands is one of the most foreign economic activity - oriented countries in the world (the fourth exporter of goods and sixth exporter of foreign direct investment worldwide). In particular, the speaker noted that this country is one of the leading economic partners of Russia (third in trade and second in accumulated investments). Among the Russian regions, Moscow ranks first (40%) in terms of trade turnover with the Netherlands.
Traditional areas of cooperation between Russia and the Netherlands are woodworking, seafood, chemicals and agricultural technologies. Promising areas for cooperation are urban economy (architecture, design, energy efficiency, waste processing), digitalization of industry, biotechnology, etc.
The speaker elaborated on the assistance that the Trade Mission is able to provide for businessmen, wishing to trade with the Netherlands.
Mr. Anatoly Gorshkov, the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, described these countries, including the situation with coronavirus and measures adopted to assist businesses in a crisis situation.
He mentioned that, according to the WTO, Belgium is among the 20 countries with the largest foreign trade balance (11th place in the world among exporting countries) and spoke in detail about the areas of cooperation between Russia and Belgium, which are interesting for both countries, stressing that Belgium has to offer not only its national market, but also mediation and logistics services in other areas, particularly in Africa.
Luxembourg, according to Mr. Gorshkov, is a European financial center (the financial sector generates 25% of this country's GDP), but is now "drifting" towards innovation. Due to the coronavirus, the economy of this country is projected to shrink by 4-12%, but from 2021 the recovery rate is expected to be 4-6% per year.
Mr. Oleg Prozorov, the Director General of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce, spoke about the support of the Chamber's member companies operating in Russia during the "coronavirus" period.
"We welcome all forms of cooperation and collaboration with the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry," he said. It is important to be prepared for a rapid change in the economic situation. It is necessary to make efforts to increase the said cooperation”.
Ms. Irina Birman, the Advisor on business cooperation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands at the regional representative office of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Director of Stroomi BV and Innovation Media magazine, spoke about the assistance, provided to Russian businesses in entering the Dutch market and, in general, the European market, about the attractiveness of the conditions for business in the Netherlands (peculiarities of tax legislation, work with start-ups and venture investments), as well as an interesting experience of cooperation in the field of recycling.
Mr. Johan Elses, the Managing Director for Russia at the Netherlands-Russia Centre at the University of Groningen, who is responsible for managing the link between Russian companies and Dutch producers, noted that many Dutch manufacturing plants are interested in Russian exports of aluminium and other metals. He stressed that despite the sanctions, the Dutch have a good attitude towards Russia, and there are many opportunities for cooperation now.
The CEO of “Leylie Rus, LLC”, Mr. Jeroen Keiser, spoke about the support of the dairy sector of Russia during the pandemic, siting the example of automated farms with equipment from his company. "Cooperation with Russia in our sector has always been very successful," said Mr. Keiser. - “We enjoy the attention and support from regional and federal authorities". He also noted that the Russian agro-industrial complex has been developing rapidly in recent years.
Mr. Sokolov, the Head of the Representative Office of Luxembourg law firm “Arendt”, highlighted the prospects of companies that want to enter the Luxembourg market, describing the measures of governmental support for business in this country and mentioning that its market’s international nature.
Ms. Elena Medvedeva, a representative of the MCCI of Russia in Benelux and France, spoke about general directions of the new EU industrial strategy in the light of the tasks of large-scale decarbonization of economy (reduction of emissions, investment in "green" technologies, environmental protection, etc.) and the consequences of this course for the EU trading partners.