Business programme

The partnership between the United Arab Emirates and Russia is developing steadily. This positive dynamic is reflected in the statistics of Russian-Emirati trade. Over the past five years the trade turnover between the countries has increased almost 6 times and last year reached historical figures of $9 billion. At the moment the UAE confidently holds the position of Russia's largest business partner among the countries of the Arab world. Russian companies consider the country as a key production and logistics hub. The interest of Emirati investors in the Russian economy also continues to grow. Experts note a whole range of potential opportunities that are opening up in the changing economic order. What steps should be taken today to strengthen the internal and external conditions for the development of trade and investment contacts between the UAE and Russia? What opportunities does the business of the two countries offer today? How to promote more extensive, multi-sectoral and deep cooperation between countries?

Moderator
Leonid Slutskiy, Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs

Leonid Slutskiy

Chairman of the Committee of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on International Affairs

Panellists
Abdullah Mohammed Al Mazrui,
Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates
Omar Ahmed Suwaina Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates
Kirill Varlamov, Head, Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF)
Sergey Gorkov, General Director, Chairman of the Management Board, RosGeo
Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation
Veronika Nikishina, General Director, Russian Export Center
Andrey Slepnev, Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Trade, Eurasian Economic Commission
Nazim Efendiev, Chief Executive Officer, Management Company METALLOINVEST

Abdullah Mohammed Al Mazrui

President, UAE Chambers of Commerce and Industry

Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri

Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates

Omar Ahmed Suwaina Al Suwaidi

Undersecretary, Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates

Kirill Varlamov

Head, Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF)

Kirill Varlamov is a head of Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF), created by the current President of Russia, Vladimir Putin. IIDF was established in March 2013. IIDF main goals are financial and consulting support of internet projects at all stages of development, searching and selecting startups and growing them to a highly valuable business.
Kirill is also a CEO at Naumen, company cofounded with Аleksandr Davydov in 2001. Naumen is one of the leading companies in software development in Russia.
Born in 1974 in a city of Sverdlovsk, Kirill graduated Ural State Technical University in 1996, attended classes at Bradley University, Peoria, IL. In 2012 Kirill graduated Moscow management school Skolkovo as Executive MBA. In November 2012 Kirill became a winner at national finals of Ernst & Young “Entrepreneur Of The Year” in IT section. That contest is being held for 27 years in 140 cities of 50 countries around the world.

Sergey Gorkov

General Director, Chairman of the Management Board, RosGeo

Date and place of birth: December 1, 1968, town of Gai, Orenburg region
1986-1987: study in Moscow Mining Institute 1994: graduation from the Federal Counter-Intelligence Service Academy, specialty: Jurisprudence 2002: graduation from the Russian Economic Academy named after G.V. Plekhanov, specialty: Economics
1994-1997: senior positions in MENATEP Bank
FROM 1997 to 2005 – senior positions in JSC Oil Company Yukos, LLC Yukos, CJSC Yukos Refining and Marketing, including position of Vice-President of LLC Yukos-Moscow
1999: senior positions in Schlumberger
2007-2008: Member of the Board of Directors of FESCO Transportation Group
2008-2016: Head of Department, Deputy Chairman of the Board of PJSC Sberbank
2016-2018: Chairman of Vnesheconombank
2018-2019: Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
Since April 2019: General Director - Chairman of the Board of JSC RosGeo
Medal of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland of the II degree, Diploma of the Government of the Russian Federation

Denis Manturov

Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Denis Manturov was born on February 23, 1969, in Murmansk.
Education:
1994 – Lomonosov Moscow State University, major in Sociology.
1997 – Postgraduate studies at Moscow State University, PhD.
2002 – Doctoral programme at Moscow Aviation Institute.
2006 – Russian Academy of Public Service under the President of the Russian Federation, major in Law.
Professional experience:
1998 – Appointed Deputy General Director of Ulan-Ude Aviation Plant.
2000 – Appointed Commercial Director of Mil Moscow Helicopter Plant.
2001 – Appointed Deputy Chairman of State Investment Corporation (Gosincor).
2003 – Appointed General Director of OAO OPK Oboronprom.
2007 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Energy of the Russian Federation.
2008 – Appointed Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
2012 – Appointed acting Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
2012 – Appointed Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
2022 – Appointed Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation.
Awards:
2007 – Awarded the Medal of the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland (Second Class)”.
2008 – Awarded the Order of Friendship.
2009 – Awarded the Order of Honour.
2010 – Awarded an Honorary Certificate of the Government of the Russian Federation.
2013 – Awarded the Order “For Merit to the Fatherland (Fourth Class)”.
Additional information:
Active State Advisor of the Russian Federation (First Class).
Mr. Manturov was included in the “Golden 100” Personnel Management Reserve under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation.
He speaks multiple foreign languages.
He is married with a daughter and a son.

Veronika Nikishina

General Director, Russian Export Center

Panel member (Minister) of commerce in Eurasian Economic Commission since February 2016.
Born 29 April 1968. PhD in Economics, presented a thesis on Managing the access of Russian goods to foreign markets in modern conditions.
Prior to appointment as member of Commission had held a position of assistant to the First Deputy of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation.
Veronika Nikishina held management positions in the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, including Deputy Director of the Department for Trade Negotiations, Head of the Department of American Countries and the Department for Coordination, Development and Regulation of Foreign Economic Activities.
After 17 years of working for the Ministry of Economic Development, Veronika Nikishina has extensive experience in identifying and eliminating various trade barriers, applying trade protection and veterinary, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, as well as experience in international negotiations.
Currently Veronika Nikishina supervises a number of key areas for the Eurasian Economic Union, such as customs tariff and non-tariff regulation, the establishment of preferential trade regimes with third countries (free trade area), and the application of protective measures by the Eurasian Economic Union.
From February 2020 - General Director, Russian Export Center.

Andrey Slepnev

Member of the Board, Minister in Charge of Trade, Eurasian Economic Commission

Born September 13, 1969 in Bor, Nizhny Novgorod Region.
2005–2007: Head of the Presidential Experts’ Directorate
2007–2009: Deputy Minister of Agriculture
2009–2011: Member of the Trade Panel (Minister) of the Eurasian Economic Commission
February 26 – July, 2016: Assistant to the Prime Minister
July 5, 2016: appointed Deputy Head of the Government’s Executive Office and Director of the Projects Department of the Government of the Russian Federation. From May 2018 to February 2020, he was the CEO of JSC Russian Export Center. On March 2 2020 Andrey Slepnev took office as a member of the Board (Minister) for Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Nazim Efendiev

Chief Executive Officer, Management Company METALLOINVEST

Graduate of the Military Institute of Foreign Languages, the Academy of National Economy (MBA programme) and Kingston University in the UK (specialised international management programme), and completed the advanced management programme at IESE Business School of the University of Navarra.

Since April 2020 - Chief Executive Officer of Management Company METALLOINVEST LLC
03.2012 - 05.2020 - First Deputy CEO, Sales Director of Management Company METALLOINVEST LLC
2011- 2012 - Deputy CEO, Government Relations Director of Management Company METALLOINVEST LLC
2010 - 2011 - Managing Director at Ural Steel JSC
2009 - Chairman of the Board of Directors of JSC Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation JSC
2007- 2009 - CEO of Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation JSC
2007- CEO of Uralmashzavod JSC
2006- 2007 - Executive Director of Management Company METALLOINVEST LLC
2004- 2006 - CEO of Ural Steel JSC
2002 - 2004 – Marketing Director at NOSTA JSC (Ural Steel JSC)
1996 - 2002 – Worked at Siberian Aluminium, as the Deputy Commercial Director of the Sayan Aluminium Plant, the Director of the Trading House of Samara Metallurgical Plant, Chief of the rolling division at Russian Aluminium

Recipient of the title of Honorary Metallurgist (2014), the Badge of Honour for Labour and the Fatherland (2015), the Medal for Merit to the Fatherland 2nd Class (2017), a letter of appreciation from the Governor of the Belgorod region (2019), the medal "300 Years of the College of Mining of Russia" (2019).

Front row participant
Azer Mamedov, Director of the Investment Department, Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF)