Mr. Vladimir Platonov, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the undertakings of the Moscow’s Chamber at the Russia-Tajikistan Business Forum on the15th of September, 2021.
The forum was moderated by Messrs. Sergey Katyrin, the Senior Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, and Jamshed Jumakhonzoda, the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan. During the meeting, a wide range of issues, regarding the conduct of business, the state of economy, and inter-Chamber cooperation between the two countries were discussed.
The MCCI has chosen the three most promising areas for mutual cooperation: agriculture and food industry, agricultural machinery and light industry.
In his speech, Mr. Katyrin, acting as the Head of the Russian delegation, noted that Tajikistan is an important focus for Russian enterprises, a promising market and that Russian business community is interested in enhancing its cooperation, especially since the current level of trade and economic relations do not yet match the level of political dialogue between the countries.
"For the last several years, the Russian Federation has occupied the first place among the foreign trade partners of Tajikistan. In 2020, its share in the trade turnover of the Republic was 21.4% , said the Head of the Chamber of Commerce of the Russian Federation. According to the Federal Customs Service of Russia, in 2020, due to the pandemic, the Russian-Tajik trade turnover decreased, compared to 2019 by 15.3% and amounted to 838.2 million dollars USD. In January-June 2021, trade turnover between Russia and Tajikistan increased by 43.2%, compared to the same period in 2020 and amounted to $533.4 million. The volume of exports reached $499.2 million (+ 2.9 %) and imports - $34.2 million (+ 2.5 times).”
Mr. Katyrin noted that the delegation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation included the Heads of the regional Chambers, which emphasizes the interest of the Russian regions in developing contacts with Tajikistan.
"I am sure that the next meeting will be helpful in building a mutually beneficial cooperation between our countries and entrepreneurs," said Mr. Platonov. He said that the MCCI is a part of the system of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry is successful, partly due to the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia that unites the regional Chambers and helps them to cooperate, share and exchange their experiences. "I am sure that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Tajikistan is faced with the same tasks,” said the President of the MCCI. “We have similar goals. We don't have a compulsory membership, which compels us to be creative and energetic. We strive to be helpful and exciting, so that entrepreneurs are interested in the services we offer.”
And that interest is born out of what we do for business needs. Chambers of Commerce and Industry were created by entrepreneurs for themselves, and then the state, having adopted the necessary laws, gave us certain advantages. That is what makes us different from other public organizations - we are non-profit organizations, which were created to support entrepreneurs and are effective platforms for consolidating their positions, options and goals.
Mr. Platonov presented the main projects, implemented by the Moscow Chamber of Commerce, and offered to organize, in November-December of this year, an online conference for Moscow and Tajik businessmen. In addition, the MCCI President told the Tajik counterparts that, in the near future, the Moscow Chamber will create a special commission to work with partners from Tajikistan.
A number of agreements were signed during the Forum, including the Agreement on Cooperation between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan, including the Agreement on Cooperation between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Moscow and Tajikistan. Mr. Platonov said that this is a landmark event in the interaction between the business communities of Moscow and the Republic of Tajikistan.
“Moscow is one of the leaders in inter-regional cooperation," he noted, "and inter-regional trade and economic relations play an extremely important role for Moscow. We agree with the leadership of the Tajik Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the need to update the legal basis of cooperation and to intensify the interaction between our business circles, which has not been regular lately.” The signed Agreement has expanded the opportunities for cooperation between the Chambers and the business communities of Moscow and Tajikistan, as compared to a similar agreement of 2011, which was in effect until now.
The Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tajikistan, Mr. Jumakhonzoda, the President of the Lipetsk Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Anatoly Goltsov, President of the Central Siberian Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Rafael Shageev, and other representatives of the Russian and Tajik sides also spoke at the forum. Welcoming speeches were made by the representatives of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation and the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tajikistan.
The Forum was followed by the commencing ceremony of the Representative Office of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Tajikistan.
Used were the materials from the press service of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation