On the site of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, a round table was held on "Creating conditions for SMEs for the development of trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Africa .
During the event, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, represented by the MCC’s President, Mr. Vladimir Platonov, signed two cooperation agreements: one with theRussian Association for International Cooperation (RAIC) and the other with the Association for Economic Cooperation with Africa (AECAS). Mr. Sergey Kalashnikov, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Association, signed the agreement on behalf of RAIC, and its Executive Director, Ms. Anna Belyaeva, signed on behalf of AECAS.
"This is a landmark event, because 2021 is a year of preparations for the Russia-Africa 2022 Summit and Economic Forum," said Mr. Platonov. As a graduate of the Peoples' Friendship University, i I am particularly pleased to take part in today's event. The African direction is one of the priorities for the international activity of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce. In recent years, the Chamber has been actively working with business and industrial associations of several African countries (South Africa, Mozambique, Nigeria, Tanzania, Namibia, Cote d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Chad, Sierra Leone, etc.).
We partnered with a group of Southern African Development Community (SADC) Embassies in the Russian Federation to organize the SADC Investment Promotion Forum, which was held in Moscow in October 2018. During the Russia-Africa Economic Forum in Sochi, cooperation agreements were signed with the Abuja Chamber of Commerce (Nigeria) and Ivory Coast Chamber of Commerce, also signed was the Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Sierra Leone. Negotiations were held between the MCCI’s management, the Agency for Economic Development and representatives of the Special Economic Zone of Ghana".
The Head of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce told the round table participants that the Chamber is one of the main partners of the Moscow Government in organizing business events, and also takes part in the development of the most promising, for the Moscow exporters, country and industry trends, using the capabilities of its Commissions, which are focused on foreign trade cooperation, reaching to partners from different countries and respective business associations.
In addition, under the agreements and business arrangements, the MCCI actively cooperates with a number of Moscow departments: Foreign Economic and International Relations; Investments and Industrial Policy; Entrepreneurship and Innovation Policy; Economic Policy and Development of Moscow, with the Moscow Industry and Entrepreneurship Support Fund. Furthermore, the Chamber participates in the work of the Expert Councils under the auspices of its Headquarters to protect the rights and interests of investments and business activities of entrepreneurs of Moscow, involving the Center “Mosprom" and Moscow’s export center.
As for the development of relations with African countries, the MCCI has an active Commission on foreign economic cooperation with partners in Africa (Sub-Saharan Africa). Currently, a delegation, headed by its Chairman, Mr. Konstantin Anastasiadi, is on a business mission to the countries of West Africa.
"In order to assist Moscow’s business in accessing markets of Africa, the Chamber, on behalf of the Government of Moscow, held an international teleconference "Moscow-Africa" in the online format, - Mr. Platonov informed the audience.
More than 1,500 participants of the teleconference discussed the prospects of exporting to the African market the capital’s manufactured goods, including pharmaceuticals, medical devices, as well as agricultural products. The share of Moscow in the all-Russian, non-energy export to Africa amounted to 22%. Such countries as Algeria, Egypt, Nigeria, Sudan and Morocco purchased most of Moscow's products”.
Another important area of interaction is the training of personnel, using the potential of graduates of Russian, post Soviet, higher educational institutions. "In November 2018, at the initiative of PFUR and the MCCI, the International Club of Employers was created. This is the first project of its kind in Russia, designed to implement initiatives to train specialists, who meet the requirements of today's international labor market by bringing together business and educational institutions," continued the introduction the Head of the MCCI. Following the Economic Forum in Sochi in October 2019, PFUR and the MCCI held the International Festival "I want to work in Africa".
"We proceed from the premise that signing agreements with such authoritative organizations as RAMS and AECAS will generate a synergetic effect in the promotion of Russian and Moscow business on the markets of African countries," summed up his speech Mr. Platonov.
Mr. Oleg Ozerov, the Ambassador-at-Large and the Head of the Secretariat of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum, said that the second Russia-Africa Forum is scheduled for autumn 2022. "The concept of the forum has already been prepared with a substantial role relegated to Moscow. The MCCI has a huge potential, which has already been mentioned by Mr. Platonov. And the status of Russia will be even more significant than we originally estimated, due to the fact that our country has applied for holding EXPO-2030 in Moscow. We are promoting this application with pride, because Moscow is a super modern city with excellent transportation, logistics’ solutions, advanced technologies in the field of municipal services, artificial intelligence and so on. According to the expert, all these technological solutions, achievements and opportunities Moscow can offer to African capitals, which are experiencing a period of intensive urbanization.
Mr. Sergey Kalashnikov, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Russian Association for International Cooperation, indicated that the history of economic cooperation between Russia and Africa exhibits three levels. "The first one is the state interaction with economy. This level is strongly politicised and, subsequently, produces some strategic failures. The second level concerns big business.” According to the speaker, “Huge corporations of almost all developed countries are now active in Africa. And the third level addresses small and medium-sized business. There are sizeable conundrums, adjustments, unevenness and a lot of problems in general at this level.
No country in the world can claim to have achieved significant success at the SME level, working in various African countries," the expert stressed. "Small and medium business is built on relationships between people. The Russian Federation is the only country in the world that can assert the most extensive, influential human relations dynamic with all the countries of the African continent.
We have the potential to create additional powerful economic ties between Africa and Russia, relying on human resources of small and medium-sized businesses.” One of the main areas of interaction, Mr. Kalashnikov said, is the creation of an electronic platform for the exchange of information on products, with the possibility of direct contacts between sellers and buyers.
In addition, the speaker reported that the company “Etnoworld" (“Etnomir”) offered to create a permanent platform, where these contacts could take place. Another area of cooperation is the creation of a banking structure that would work with clients from Russia and Africa.
According to Ms. Anna Belyaeva, the Executive Director of AECAS: "By the Second Russia-Africa Summit, we must come up with specific economic proposals. These should be new, modern solutions. In this case, we are speaking not only about concrete problems and contracts but also about systematic solutions. "I must say that our small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large ones, now need support acutely: we must inform our business enterprises about the opportunities that exist in Africa. Currently, we are faced with a woeful lack of required information,” the speaker pronounced. This problem can be solved by creating an Internet platform, which will collect all of the information on the interaction with the countries of the African continent. The initiative to create a unified informational platform was launched by the AECAS on the eve of the Second Summit.
The composition of the round table was very diverse: It was attended by high-ranking diplomats from a number of African states: the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the Russian Federation, Mr. Abdullahi Iibaikwal Shehu, Chargé d'affaires of the Embassy of the United Republic of Tanzania to the Russian Federation, Dr. Mkama Sweetbert Zaharia, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Kenya to the Russian Federation, Mr. Joshua M. Mugodo, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Namibia to the Russian Federation, Mr. Clemens Handuukeme Kashupulwa, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sierra Leone Mr.Mohamed Yongavo.
All of the participants expressed their readiness to cooperate with Russian entrepreneurs, engaged in various sectors of economy. Especially noteworthy was that, in addition to mining, there exist other areas of promising cooperation endeavours in these countries: fishing, agriculture, tourism, high technology, etc. Meanwhile, the speakers said that there are serious problems associated with the differences in mentalities and dispositions, legislation and methods of conducting financial transactions.
As a result of the round table, it was decided to continue pursuing communications using the platform of the Moscow’s Chamber of Commerce in order to prepare for the second Forum “Russia-Africa" but to also promote cooperation between Moscow’s entrepreneurs with colleagues from African countries by establishing joint round tables, as well as the organization of business missions.