On June 6, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry conducted an event, presenting investment projects with the participation of Spanish companies, organized by the Commission of the MCCI on Foreign Economic Cooperation with partners in Spain, the Project Office of the Russian-Spanish Business Platform and the Ibero-Russian Business Alliance. The Vice President of the MCCI, Mr. Suren Vardanyan, moderated the meeting.
The Head of the Russian-Spanish Business Platform and the Chairman of the MCCI Commission for Foreign Economic Cooperation with partners in Spain, Mr. Eduard Gulyan, noted that the GDPs of Spain and Russia are comparable, which provides a great opportunity for cooperation. He said that on May 18, 2018, in Madrid, the exchange of contacts between Russian and Spanish companies took place, six contracts were signed in the spheres of production of fertilizers, pharmaceuticals, and packaging; other joint projects are under consideration.
The projects, presented in the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, had a pronounced social component: the organization of socio-cultural leisure centers in various areas of Moscow for the development of local connections, localization of production of functional foods, manufacturing of high-tech bionic prostheses. It is expected that a part of the investment will be assumed by the Russian-Spanish Business Platform, a certain share is ready to be invested by the Spanish side, however, for successful implementation of the project and technology transfer (TOT), additional support is needed.
Representatives of project teams provided an overview of industries, history and developmental trends and appealed to officials of executive authorities for support in the form of tax incentives, provision of land plots, the conclusion of offset contracts, and cooperation in the area of public-private partnership.
Therefore, the project for the development of social and cultural communication centers in Moscow was created, based on the work experience of the so-called “community centers” in Barcelona. The model of the centers allows local residents to establish local communications, attend various courses (more than 200 programs), share experiences, and acquire new knowledge. This will help in strengthening positive attitudes and reduce social tensions. In Barcelona, 52 centers are located in attractive buildings in terms of their architectural and cultural values. The project for the development of such centers may be given the status of a priority investment and be situated both in the existing social service centers (CSO) and on individual sites. The invited expert, Head of the Nekrasov Central Library and specialist in the development of social and cultural programs in Moscow, Ms. Maria Privalova, confirmed that the demand for quality social services in Moscow is very acute.
The second presented project deals with the production of the so-called “functional foods”. With functional nutrition, a body receives the necessary amount of minerals, amino acids, vitamins, carbohydrates and proteins, which positively affects health. According to experts, the volume of the market of functional food products in Russia amounts to 455 billion rubles. The production of functional food products can be focused on socially unprotected sections of the population and localized in Moscow.
The localization of the production of bionic prostheses conforms to the needs of Moscow’s residents with disabilities. Russian production in this area now covers just over 30% of the market's needs. Such high-tech prostheses will help people with disabilities to return to full-time work; moreover, localization will help to increase the availability of prostheses due to a lower price and technology transfer.
Representatives of the Department of the City of Moscow on Competition Policy, City Investment Management Agency, Moscow Industrial Development Agency expressed their willingness to discuss the project plans in more detail and provide additional information on the capital's purchases in specific areas. The project to create socio-cultural centers was proposed to be implemented in a pilot format.
Also, during the meeting, the interactive platform ICS (Internet connection sharing) was presented, which aims to support Russian and Spanish entrepreneurs in establishing direct contacts, helps to select companies by industry and market segments, to investigate competitors and pricing policy, and to receive consultations on the specifics of the approaches in establishing business relations. The development of the platform will be completed in the near future.
The event was organized with the support of the Moscow Government and the Department of Economic Policy and Development of Moscow.