On June 10th a conference "Doing business in Moscow" was held in Nice within the framework of the Days of Moscow in France. It was organized by the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The moderator of the conference, which was attended by representatives of business communities of the two cities, was Mr Suren Vardanyan, Vice President of MCCI.
Addressing the French businessmen, the Minister of the Government of Moscow, the head of the Moscow Department of the Foreign Economic and International Relations, Sergey Cheryomin, described the dynamics of the progress in the complex transportation infrastructure of the Russian capital, about the steps in preparing sports venues for organizing the World Football Cup championship in 2018. Furthermore, he outlined the progress of the districts, adjoining the Moscow river, accomplishments in the realm of public real estate of the city, renovation of industrial zones and the measures undertaken by the city for the improvement of investment opportunities.
Stanislav Korolev, an honorary member of the MCCI Committee for Sustainable Development of the real sector of the economy and the representative of the International Rating Center, spoke about joint projects aimed at preserving the spiritual heritage, being carried out by foreign and domestic interests.
The Head of the Directorate of Railways, Vitaly Votolevsky, in his report, described the special role of railway hubs and stations, the gates to various cities in the development of tourism, cultural exchange and business. He stressed that many of the stations, both in Russia and in France, are elemental in cultural and architectural heritage and are, therefore, fascinating tourist attractions. Summing up his report, Volotevsky stated that "railway stations are the gates to and heralds of cities, platforms for exchanges and cooperation zones" and called on business to pay close attention to these promising areas of cooperation.
The General Director of the "Russian Railways Tours" LLC, Sergei Ilyaguev, talked about the restoration of interesting railway routes - from Moscow to Nice and Paris. In just under two days the travelers have an opportunity to comfortably cross virtually the whole of Europe. In addition, the audience was introduced to a possibility of a number of excursions to Russia on a steam train. Tourists can visit the Golden Ring, tourist routes passing through the ancient Russian cities of North-Eastern Russia, to pass through places that preserve the memory of Leo Tolstoy and the Russian classical poets.
The trip provides tours and folklore programs. For passengers, who are accustomed to comfort and luxury, the "Russian Railways Tour" LLC is ready to provide a special program: «La Russie Impériale» - a trip on the Trans-Siberian Express. Tourists are provided with three choices of luxury accomodations with corresponding services. Included are excursions and additional entertainment in English, German, French, Spanish: folklore programs, local cuisine, an opportunity for acquainting themselves with national traditions. During the trip, starting in Moscow, tourists, passing Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Ulan-Ude, can see the largest freshwater lake in the world - Lake Baikal. The itinerary also includes a visit not only to the Russian cities, but also to the Eastern capitals - Ulan Bator and Beijing.
In addition, the Deputy General Director of "Renault Russia”, Tatiana Redko, spoke about the history of the Renault automobile company in Russia, which has been there for more than 100 years. The new history began in 1998, with the creation of the joint venture between Renault and the Moscow Government. In 2014, the company has reached the annual production capacity of 190,000 cars.
She also outlined the negative factors affecting the development of business in the times of crisis: the rising prices of new cars, the rise in interest rates on loans and insurance prices. However, she stressed the advantages of working in Moscow for Renault: the access to a highly skilled labor force, developed transport and industrial infrastructure, high level of education of the population, availability of energy resources (electricity, gas, heat), and, most importantly, the cooperation and support of the Government of Moscow and Federal authorities, including the provision of tax and property insentives for manufacturing activities.
The MCCI Chairman of the Tourism Committee, Sergey Abramov, presented to the participants of the conference some promising projects and possible venues and directions for further cooperation between the Russian and French travel agencies.
The representative in the Russian Federation of the French Federation of Landscape Architects, IB2C France SAS, Irina Garnier, described the Franco-Russian cooperation in the field of landscape architecture and land improvement. In particular, she reported that in 2012, for the first time in Russia, an international architectural competition "Big Moscow" was announced to create a concept for the development of Moscow’s enhancement.
One of the winners was the French Bureau of Landscape Architecture, Atelier Villes et Paysages, a subsidiary of the European holding company, EGIS, a part of the creative team of the architect, Mr. Granbak. In addition, Madame Garnier described the function of the Federation of Landscape Architects, and outlined the main tasks facing this association.
Summing up the conference, the Vice-President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Suren Vardanyan, said that the conference was organized and conducted very efficiently and was certainly beneficial to both parties.
"The history of the Russian-French business relations has a long and glorious history. And now, the joint conferences, round tables, meetings of B2B, despite the difficult situation and the imposition of sanctions, the entrepreneurs from both sides show great interest in cooperation and collaboration.
During the “Days of Moscow” in France, a number of important intergovernmental documents were signed. In addition, many promising agreements between businessmen of the two countries were concluded. I would like to say that there is an expressed interest of our compatriots in France for establishing business contacts with the Russian business community. I hope that the next step in strengthening business ties will be made during the meeting of the C6 in Paris on June 22".