Joint business event of the Сhambers of Сommerce and Industry of the two countries within the 10th Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus in Ufa

Within the framework of the tenth anniversary Forum of Regions of Russia and Belarus, which is being held in Ufa this year, a joint event of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry was held, dedicated to the topic "Promising directions for the development of business cooperation between the two countries".

The event was opened by welcoming speeches by the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Sergey Katyrin, Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mikhael Miatlikov, Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Committee on Economic Policy, representative of the legislative (representative) body of state power of the Republic of Bashkortostan Irek Yalalov, Chairman of the Permanent Commission for Economics, Budget and Finance of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus Tatyana Runets, First Deputy Chairman of the Minsk City Executive Committee Nadezhda Lazarevich, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Bashkortostan Timur Khakimov.

The event was attended by representatives of state bodies, Chambers of Commerce and Industry and businesses of the two countries' regions.

In his welcoming speech, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce Sergey Katyrin noted the importance of the Forum of Regions and the joint event of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for discussing issues of Russian-Belarusian cooperation.

"The fact that our event is being held within the forum of legislators gives us not only a unique opportunity to present the vision of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry on the prospects for the development of Russian-Belarusian business ties, but also promptly convey proposals on legislation improvement to the legislative bodies and thus contribute to improving the business climate and overall conjuncture of bilateral economic cooperation," Sergey Katyrin said.

Welcoming the participants, the BelCCI Chairman Mikhael Miatlikov noted that there is a continuous exchange of business contacts and proposals through the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation. Numerous business events are held annually within the framework of regional cooperation, including the traditional meetings of the joint business council within the framework of the Forum of Regions.

Mikhael Miatlikov presented the agenda of the event – speeches on topical areas of cooperation, signing of bilateral documents between the Chambers of Commerce and Industry and enterprises of Belarus and Russia, and also wished the participants fruitful work.

Following the welcoming remarks, perspective directions for the development of the Belarusian-Russian trade and economic cooperation were considered. The participants exchanged views and shared cooperation experience.

As part of the discussion of the topic "Obstacles that hinder the formation of a common market for goods and services", the key success factors for the growth of trade and the expansion of the common market for goods and services were presented, as well as business development opportunities using exchange instruments, the main aspects of creating a barrier-free environment for the movement of goods and services.

The second issue on the agenda was "Family business development". The participants were presented with a special project of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on the promotion of family business, which contributes to the formation of state support measures, as well as to the creation of infrastructure organizations with a comprehensive package of services to solve current problems and strategic challenges of family businesses.

"Switching transport to gas motor fuel" is another topical issue for bilateral cooperation. There is potential for increasing the fleet of gas-driven vehicles in Belarus and Russia, as well as for developing production and related infrastructure, import substitution and expanding cooperation in the supply of such vehicles and components, equipment for filling stations and liquefied natural gas plants. Promising projects in this area were presented by representatives of large Belarusian and Russian enterprises of the petrochemical industry.

As a result of the event, as well as within the framework of the first days of the Forum of Regions, cooperation agreements were signed between the regional Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Russia and the branches of the BelCCI, a memorandum between BKH Holding and the Transport Infrastructure Department of the urban district of Ufa, as well as business contracts for the supply of products.

On June 28, the Chairman of the Belarusian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mikhael Miatlikov took part in the Plenary Session of the 10^th Forum of Regiona of Russia and Belarus.