On May 30, the Government of Moscow hosted the conference "Opportunities of the economic potential of Marseilles and Provence", with the participation of Mr. Vardanyan, the Vice President of the MCCI.
A representative delegation from Provence arrived in the capital: 27 people came to Moscow in order to assess the prospects and directions for mutual cooperation, as well as see for themselves how the capital of Russia is changing.
The Head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations of Moscow, Mr. Sergey Cheryomin, said that last year the trade turnover between Moscow and French organizations grew by 15% compared to 2016. "French companies quickly adapted to the new economic conditions, and already in 2016, we noted an increase in trade with France of almost 45%, last year this figure was 15%. For us, this indicates that French business continues to look positively at the economic opportunities for work with Moscow, and with the Russian Federation", said Mr. Cheryomin, adding that the total volume of trade between Moscow and French partners for the year amounted to 5 billion euro.
"I would like to note that the policy of sanctions did affect the foreign economic relations: in 2015. There had been a very serious negative effect, and we noted the fall in the foreign trade turnover between Moscow’s and French companies, but we must give credit, where credit is due: none of them left the Moscow’s market, and today they continue to actively work and do business", said the head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations. According to him, about 200 French companies are registered in Moscow.
"We believe that the Marseille region can be extremely interesting for Russian companies and Russian investors, and there are many such examples", said the Minister of the Government of Moscow.
The Deputy Mayor for Social Development of Moscow, Mr. Leonid Pechatnikov, thanked the French delegation for showing interest in our metropolis. "In recent years, Moscow has changed a lot, with the agglomerated population approaching 25 million people. Our city is the center of innovation in Russia", he said. Particularly the Deputy Mayor noted that Russia's relations with France have always been good, despite political cataclysms. "We are glad to hold the “Days of Moscow culture” in different European cities; we enthusiastically receive delegations from other countries. We are pleased that such a city as Marseille will be adequately represented in our capital ", Mr. Pechatnikov said, announcing the upcoming “Marseilles Days” in Moscow.
In his welcoming speech, the Vice President of the MCCI, Mr. Vardanyan, noted the significant role of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Marseilles in establishing economic and partnership relations between the entrepreneurs of this region of France and the businessmen of the Russian capital. He expressed the hope that further joint efforts of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Chamber of Commerce of Marseilles will promote the active development of business contacts between the two cities.