First day of InvestRus international conference concludes in Moscow
On 14 April 2016, the first day of the InvestRus International Conference on Securing Investment Growth in Russia, an event dedicated to the 110th anniversary of parliamentary government in the country, drew to a close in Moscow. This event is held under the auspices of the Investment Council under the Chairman of the State Duma and with the support of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) and the Russian Foreign Investment Advisory Council (FIAC).
This year, it focused on identifying new sources and forms of financing for investment projects and the external conditions necessary for attracting investment.
“It’s no secret that decisions made by the government can be met with harsh criticism from business, both of an objective, and subjective nature. The Russian parliament must identify compromises which balance the interests of all sides. In addition to economic growth, it must also factor in social well-being, issues of security, and financial prudence,” said Sergey Naryshkin, Speaker of the State Duma of the Russian Federation
A separate topic of discussion at the InvestRus conference was the state of the investment climate in the Russian Federation. Despite Western countries’ sanctions against Russia, in 2016 the country has already moved up three places on the ‘ease of doing business’ measure in the World Bank’s Doing Business rankings. Conference participants also touched on issues concerning the development of small business and investment activity in this sector. The Russian economy requires a series of reforms to simplify the registration of new companies. For this reason, particular attention was paid by the experts to questions of legislative support as a way to attract investment.
Approximately 500 representatives of the government and business communities, as well as experts from Russia and abroad participated in the first day of the conference. They included:
- Anatoly Aksakov, Chair of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy, Innovative Development, and Entrepreneurship
- Alexander Braverman, CEO and Chairman of the Board, Federal Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Business
- Nikolay Gordeyev, President, Chairman of the Board, United Financial Capital Bank
- Kirill Dmitriev, CEO, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)
- Alexander Kalinin, President, OPORA Russia
- Jean-Pierre Thomas, President, Thomas Vendôme Investment
- Antonio Fallico, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Banca Intesa
- Philippe Pegorier, Chairman of the Board, Association of European Businesses in Russia
- Daniel Russell, President and CEO, US–Russia Business Council
- Alan Thompson, Russia Director, Russo–British Chamber of Commerce
The first day of the conference culminated in a working meeting between Chairman of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation Sergey Naryshkin and executives from the Russian divisions of major international companies, as well as the ‘Choose Russia! New challenges’ plenary session, at which participants considered priority measures for building a positive macroeconomic environment in the country.
On the second day of the InvestRus conference, meetings of the Central Federal District Association for Interregional Economic Collaboration’s Coordinating Council for Waste Management Development and Coordinating Council for Agribusiness Development are scheduled to be held. The conference will also include a SPIEF session entitled ‘Russia’s regions: new areas of growth’ (participants will have a chance to discuss how to identify and develop new investment opportunities and export projects in Russia and learn about the various packages available for participating in the twentieth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, ‘Capitalizing on the new global economic reality’, which will be held on June 16–18, 2016).
Further information is available on the official Conference website: http://www.russia-invest.ru/en.
Contact information for media representatives:
Daria Smolenskaya, d.smolenskaya@russia-invest.ru, +7 (921) 437 8465
