Mr. Vladimir Platonov, the President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, took part in the official visit to the Republic of Turkey of the delegation from the Russian capital, Headed by Mr. Sergey Cheryomin, the Minister of the Moscow City Government, Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations.
On October 2nd, the delegation met with Istanbul’s Mayor, Mr. Ekrem İmamoğlu, and ministers of the largest Turkish metropolis. Following the talks, it was decided to enact the preparation of a comprehensive agreement between Moscow and Istanbul on cooperation, which would cover all areas of mutual interest, including transportation, healthcare, culture and tourism.
Mr. Cheryomin noted that the meeting with the Mayor, Mr. İmamoğlu, was very positive and productive. "We managed to discuss all the key issues of interaction between Istanbul and Moscow. The Mayor expressed his desire to continue cooperation both in the field of information technology and key infrastructure. We discussed the possibility of cooperation in the field of transportation. Our Turkish partners were very interested in Moscow's experience pertaining to traffic management, the integration of rail transportation and the creation of transportation hubs. In this regard, we agreed that in the draft document that is being prepared for signing, we will definitely provide for the possibility of such cooperation," said Mr. Cheryomin.
He also recalled that Turkey is one of the most important foreign economic partners of the Russian capital: "In 2021, Turkey was on the 11th place gauged by the volume of foreign trade turnover among partner countries of Moscow. In 2022, it moved to the sixth position, and, according to the results of the first quarter of 2023, it occupies the third place. Hundreds of companies representing Turkish business operate in Moscow. The volume of their investments amounts to more than $1 billion. Turkey remains the most important logistics hub for us," said the Head of the Moscow delegation.
Mr. Platonov, in turn, noted the importance of urban interaction and called for intensified exchange of experience among business communities and individual companies in the fields of transportation and digital technologies pertaining to city management.
Next, negotiations took place concerning the work of the Turkish-Russian Business Council DEIC and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The President of the MCCI, who moderated the meeting with DEIC, noted the growing importance of the exchange of trade requests between the business communities of Moscow and Istanbul, and proposed options for further intensification of assistance to the partnership between the business communities of the two megacities.
Further, from October 3 to 6, the Moscow delegation held a series of talks in Turkish Antalya on bilateral cooperation in various fields.
Promising areas of cooperation between Moscow and Antalya were discussed with Turkish partners: development of transportation and road infrastructure, innovative technology parks, smart city technologies, bilateral cooperation in education, holding joint sports and cultural events. Negotiations were held with the Mayor of Antalya Mr. Muhittin Bojek, a business breakfast with representatives of the business community and Industrial Association on the development of bilateral trade and economic ties. The Russian delegation also visited the Antalya Traffic Management Center, a number of Universities and schools, including the Russian-speaking ones.
During the working meeting between Mr. Platonov and the Chairman of the Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Antalya City and the Iindustrial Zone, Mr. Ali Bahar, a Memorandum of Cooperation between the two Chambers was signed.
"I am sure that today, at a time when international tensions are unprecedentedly high, it is the efforts of businessmen, interested in continuing business ties that can become the key element in assuaging international tensions, restoration of good relations between countries and peoples," said Mr. Platonov during the signing ceremony, emphasizing that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry is always ready to provide any support to the business circles of the Republic of Turkey in their search for business partners in our city and participation in investment activities.
TASS materials were used