SPIEF Session ‘Russia's Regions: New Areas of Growth’ in the Republic of Kalmykia

The Roscongress Foundation together with the Russian Export Centre (REC) and the Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) organized a visiting session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum ‘Russia’s Regions: New Areas of Growth. Investment in the Real Sector’ in Elista, Republic of Kalmykia, on 15 May 2018.

The session continued a sequence of events aimed at expanding investment opportunities, developing the export potential of the regions and promoting specific territories.

For the first time international partners participated in a visiting regional session. State and business representatives made up the Chinese delegation: Commercial and Economic Counsel of Jiangsu Province in Russia, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade and China National Petroleum Corporation in Moscow.

Wang Shengzi, Chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Russia, noted that Republic of Kalmykia has an undeniable development potential in tourism, livestock production, agriculture, machinery, consumer goods and textile manufacturing. “This year statistics show that China has become one of the major trade partners of the Republic of Kalmykia. Moreover, the Chinese regions of Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia and others build a strong foundation for trade cooperation.”

The plenary session was attended by the Head of the Republic of Kalmykia Alexei Orlov, Deputy Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Ingushetia Igor Khranovsky, Chairman of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) in Russia Wang Shengzi, Director of the Analytic Centre for the CIS at EY Alexei Rybnikov, Head of the Investment Climate Department for Regional Development of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Vitaly Khramushin, Head of Rostov-on-Don branch office of the Russian Export Centre Alexander Saneev, Head of the Domestic Tourism and State Target Programmes of the Federal Agency for Tourism Vladimir Gunik.

The focus of the business session was the development of high-tech production and infrastructure and creation of new employment opportunities to sharpen the completive edge of the region. Speaking about the journey and plans for the future, the head of the Republic of Kalmykia Alexei Orlov said: “We have an amazing opportunity to host a communication platform where, as the record shows, key decisions are made and prospective projects are born.”

The discussion also focused on ways to promote state support for business. The plenary session participants talked about assisting enterprises of the Russian regions and emphasized state opportunities to attract investments in the real sector of the economy.

“Export development in the regions is one of the key objectives of the REC. We work hand in hand with regional companies providing them with systemic support – from basic consulting to credit and insurance services. Through 'Russia’s Regions: New Areas of Growth’ events, the REC involves entrepreneurs from all parts of the country into export operations,” noted Alexander Saneev.

Participants discussed the state support institutions for business and the general investment climate in the region. It stands to mention that following the introduction of target models, the Republic of Kalmykia demonstrated the best dynamics connecting to main distribution grids of gas, heat, water and sanitation systems in 2017.

Head of the Investment Climate Department for Regional Development of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Vitaly Khramushin emphasized: “Points to note are the improvement of procedures to obtain construction and land plot use permits as well as the support of small and medium-sized entrepreneurship. We believe that regions should use their counterparts' best practices to reach their targets. We will soon find out the general state of business, when the national rating is published. Traditionally its presentation will take place at the specialized session of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.”

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will take place on 24–25 May 2018.