The events hosted by the Roscongress Foundation’s Russia House project have concluded in Davos, Switzerland. The official Russian residence received over 1,500 guests from 70 countries during the five days it was open. Members of the official Russian delegation, prominent Russian and foreign businessmen, experts, and opinion leaders were actively involved in the work of the Russia House. There were over 150 media representatives working onsite. The project was organized by the Roscongress Foundation together with its partners: V-Tell, the Moscow Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations, and EY. The operators of the venue and the evening events were: Congress International, the company Simple, and Burnier. The information partners of the Russia House project in Davos were the TV channels Russia 24, RT, RBK as well as TASS, Rambler News Service and the Swiss publication Our Newspaper.
“The Russia House organizers succeeded in utilizing last year’s experience and made the current business programme as pertinent and informative as possible by bringing in prominent figures from Russian and foreign business and official circles to take part in the sessions. Russia reaffirmed its openness towards relations with the international community. This year, Russia House became a major business and discussion platform on the Davos map with a recognizable format and image”, Adviser to the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.
Russia House served as the official Russian residence for the second year in a row. The venue traditionally attracts World Economic Forum participants, guests of Davos, and officials from numerous countries around the world. This year, visitors to Russia House included President of the Skolkovo Foundation Viktor Vekselberg, Chair of the Skolkovo Foundation and FIDE President Arkady Dvorkovich, EY Country Managing Partner for Russia and the CIS Alexander Ivlev, President and CEO of Carlsberg Breweries Cees ‘t Hart, Sistema CEO Andrey Dubovskov, CEO and Co-founder of the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies project Dirk Ahlborn, SIBUR Holding Chairman of the Management Board Dmitry Konov, SUN Group Vice Chairman Shiv Vikram Khemka, Orion Heritage Foundation President David Yakobashvili, Founder of the Opportunity Network Brian Pallas, IKEA Group President and CEO Jesper Brodin, VTB Bank President and Chairman of the Management Board Andrey Kostin, President for Europe and Member of the ABB Ltd. Board Frank Duggan, Severstal Chairman of the Board of Directors Alexey Mordashov, Fortum Corporation President and CEO Pekka Lundmark, Yandex Group Co-founder and CEO Arkady Volozh, Yandex Group Chairman of the Board of Directors John Boynton, PhosAgro Chairman of the Management Board and CEO Andrey Guryev, Bloomberg LP Director for Europe Constantin Michael Cotzias, and others.
“The Russia House in Davos was even more popular this year. People come with a clear understanding that there is interesting business communication here, where you can have a comprehensive discussion about what is happening in Russia today. You can even see this visually – there are a lot of people, and they spend a conscious part of their time here in Davos”, SIBUR Holding Chairman of the Board Dmitry Konov said.
The following government officials were guests of the Russia House: Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel, Qatari Minister of Commerce and Industry Ali bin Ahmed al- Kuwari, French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire, Minister, Head of the Moscow Government’s Department for Foreign Economic Activity and International Relations, and Chairman of the Board of the Business Council for Cooperation with the Republic of India Sergey Cheremin, Adviser to the Qatari Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Ali Al-Thani, and World Bank Chief Executive Officer Kristalina Georgieva, Secretary General of the Qatar 2022 World Cup Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy Hassan Al Thawadi.
The final day of the Russia House business programme featured a traditional meeting of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council in Russia. “The Russian agenda in Davos remains as relevant as ever. Russia is part of the global economy and one of the key players in the world. Russia has a presence at the World Economic Forum in Davos. This is important both for our country and for the entire international community”, EY Country Managing Partner for Russia and the CIS Alexander Ivlev said.
The Russia House business programme concluded with a briefing by Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Oreshkin, who recapped the Russian delegation’s work at the World Economic Forum. “In Davos, Russia has made its position known: it is essential for all countries to focus on domestic problems, including finding ways out of economic, digital, and technological inequality. I would like to note the sentiments of European countries to distance themselves from a dependent position on their ideological American partners. In this regard, Russia has more prospects for cooperation and collaboration. A meeting of the Foreign Investment Advisory Council was held at the Russia House in Davos with the heads of major corporations. They all noted the positive trends in macroeconomic indicators and agreed on further joint actions to improve cooperation between the government and business”, Maxim Oreshkin said.
Guests were treated to traditional Russian hospitality and performances by musical groups and performers as part of the evening cultural programme. The main event was an official ceremony to present the Moscow Government’s Prize for International Cooperation and the Development of Foreign Economic Activity. The prize was awarded to representatives of Russian and foreign business communities as well as experts who have made a substantial contribution to the development and support of Russia’s sustainable foreign economic relations and who are most actively involved in work to achieve common success in business.
Throughout all the days of the Russia House’s work, Roscongress Foundation experts were working on preparing final materials in summary format for each session of the business programme. These texts as well as quotes from key speakers are publicly available in the information and analytical system on the Roscongress Foundation’s official website: www.roscongress.org.
The Russia House in Davos once again served as a vivid and interesting venue and a traditional meeting place for representatives of the international business community and official circles. The Russia House will once again open its doors in 2020 during the 50th anniversary of the World Economic Forum.
www.houserussia.com
Address:
68, Promenade, Davos, Switzerland
Contacts:
The Roscongress Foundation
12, Krasnopresnenskaya nab.,
Moscow, 123610, Russia
Tel./Fax: +7 (495) 640 4440
davos@roscongress.org
Alexandra Ogneva
Deputy CEO,
Head of International and Regional Cooperation Directorate
Project Leader
alexandra.ogneva@roscongress.org
For enquiries relating to partnership:
Andrey Reut
First Deputy CEO
partners@roscongress.org
