On December 7, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, held an official meeting with the President of the Greek-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Pantelis Skarlatos. The meeting was moderated by the Vice President of the MCCI, Mr. Suren Vardanyan.
In his welcoming speech, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, briefly presented the opportunities for collective undertakings. He emphasized the importance of international cooperation for the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and noted that the restrictions caused by the pandemic did not hinder the joint work and cooperation with Greece, and "on some issues it has even been intensified". Among the topics that the MCCI is ready to actively develop together with its partners in the Greek Republic, the President of the MCCI named trade, transport, urban development, maritime transport, environment, fighting forest fires, pharmacology, tourism development and the breeding of small-horned cattle.
The President of the Greek-Russian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Skarlatos reminded that Greece and Russia have a lot in common in history and culture. Indeed, there are many opportunities to reach a new level of cooperation. "In my opinion, improvement and significant development of bilateral relations can be achieved through strategic planning of economic and trade issues," Mr. Skarlatos said. Mr. Vardanyan agreed that there is a great potential for the development of cooperation. And the topic of the next big conference could be a "green economy”.
Генеральный консул Российской Федерации в городе Салоники Владимир Майстренко согласился с «векторами взаимодействия», которые очертили главы палат, и подчеркнул, что «теперь главное – сопряжение усилий для продвижения по намеченному пути». Он отметил, что Генеральное консульство РФ готово оказывать обеим палатам любое содействие в рамках своей компетенции.
The Consul General of the Russian Federation in Thessaloniki, Mr. Vladimir Maistrenko, agreed with the "vectors of interaction", which outlined the heads of chambers, and stressed that "now the main thing is to combine efforts to move along the planned path. He noted that the Consulate General of the Russian Federation is ready to provide any assistance to both chambers within its competence.
Mr. Christos Farmakis, the Minister Plenipotentiary for Trade and Economic Affairs at the Embassy of Greece in Moscow, said: "Our meeting today comes at a time when the Greek-Russian ties are actively developing at a very high level. We are optimistic that we will be able to overcome the obstacles of the pandemic and intensify trade and economic cooperation between the two countries. And spiritual cooperation stands already at a very gratifying level!"
The Chairman of the MCCI Commission on Foreign Economic Cooperation with partners in the Hellenic Republic , Mr. Yuri Iliadi, highlighted some of the projects that the MCCI proposed for consideration by the Russian-Greek Intergovernmental Commission this year. They were accepted positively and are aimed at increasing the efficiency of the joint work.
Mr. Dimitris Bakolas, a member of the Board, the Secretary General of the GRTP and former President of GRTP, suggested that both sides should be "more innovative" in those sectors that are still "not much filled, for example, in the field of tourism".
Mr. Konstantin Anastasiadi, the Chairman of the MCCI Commission for Foreign Economic Cooperation with partners in the Sub-Saharan Africa, believes that one of the issues that the Greek side should pay attention to the restoration or creation of a sea shipping line. This applies to both the shipping of cargo and transportation of passengers. "Regular communication will greatly facilitate the trade and economic relations between our countries," considers Mr. Anastasiadi.
Concluding the meeting, Mr. Vardanyan reminded about the expediency of holding industry conferences. "We are in favour of approving a plan of conferences for the entire year with specific dates and events in the first quarter of 2022", - said the Vice-President of MCCI.
The event was supported by the Government of Moscow and the Department of Economic Policy and Development of Moscow