On December 10, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry held a closed seminar: "Venezuela: opportunities and risks for Russian business during sanctions.”
The participants talked about the possible cooperation with partners from Venezuela, estimated prospective areas of work in the market of this country. The moderator of the event, the Vice-President of the MCCI, Mr. Suren Vardanyan, named Venezuela "one of our key partners in Latin America.”
Since 2015, the U.S. has been imposing tough sanctions on Venezuela. All the key sectors of the economy, including oil and gold production, as well as the financial sector, have fallen under restrictions. "This strongly affects the activities of our companies in Moscow and, Russia, our many partners, who would like to execute their respective projects. If a project is somehow related to Venezuela, certain risks immediately arise. The country is rich in resources and competent in their utilisation and implementation, and represents a profound base of applicable experience. Venezuela can be one of the key players in the Latin American market," said Mr.Vardanyan.
Mr.Dmitry Rosenthal, the Deputy Director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, spoke about the main trends in the Venezuelan economy and the most promising sectors for Russian business. He emphasized that the most pressing issue is the risk, associated with the heterogeneity of the opposition within the political climate of Venezuela. It is impossible to predict which party will come to power and whether it will guarantee the observance of economic agreements.
Mr. Ivan Timofeev, The Program Director of the Russian International Affairs Council, spoke about the structure of sanctions’ risk in connection with the situation in Venezuela. He detailed the cases of sanctions concerning conundrums for Russian and foreign companies operating in that country. He also explained the differences between the EU and US sanctions ,and why the US sanctions are most perilous for business. Mr. Timofeev recommended that businessmen, planning to do business in Venezuela, should thoroughly analyze the specifics of the sanctions’ regime, check ownership structure and connections with the sanctioned entities, avoid intentional violations and be prepared for excessive compliance. This will minimize both the risk of secondary sanctions and the threat of enforcement action by thU.S. regulators. Such measures include administrative fines and criminal prosecution.
The General Director of the Russian subsidiary of the Venezuelan state company “PDVSA” (PDVSA Rusia),Mr. Joglis Jesus Martinez Nunez, noted that Russia and Venezuela are allied countries, and have similar economic situations, since both countries are subject to various kinds of sanctions. However, in recent years there has been a strengthening not only of political but also of trade and economic ties between the two countries. "We are making every effort for cooperation in the oil and gas sectors and are strengthening the achievements that have been made over the last 15 years," said Mr. Nunez.
The participants of the event had the opportunity to ask experts questions and discuss problems. "I promise you that next year we will hold a separate session on Venezuela, dedicated to the prospects of economic and investment cooperation between Russia and Venezuela," assured Mr. Vardanyan at the end of the event. - And I really count on your presentation of proposals and that of Mr. Ambassador concerning the areas in which Russian business may participate".
The event was held with the support of the Moscow City Government and the Department of Economic Policy and Development of Moscow