Results of the Sixth Joint Session of RABC

October 2, 2006

This magazine deals with the results of the Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council. The issue contains the addresses of the Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Prime-Minister Mikhail Fradkov and the Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov to the participants of the Session. The magazine also includes the speeches of the participants of the Session and the results of the meetings of the bilateral councils within the framework of the Russian-Arab Business Council.

The Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council

The Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council took place in Saint Petersburg, Russia on May, 5-4, 2006. The list of the participants included heads of the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and the Arab countries, representatives of ministries, departments and large companies and businessmen interested in widening the business cooperation.

The address of the President of the Russian Federation to the participants of the Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council

The Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed the participants of the Session, calling the cooperation between Russia and the Arab countries effective and wide and appreciating the role of RABC in the development of that cooperation. The Russian President expressed his hope that the participants of the Session would take decisions which would give an additional impulse to deepening the relations between Russia and its Arab partners.

The address of the Russian Government to the participants of the Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council

The Russian Prime-Minister Mikhail Fradkov characterized RABC as an effective mechanism of the cooperation between Russian and Arab businessmen and called the activities of the Council important and necessary at the present stage.

The address of the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov to the participants of the Sixth Joint Session of the Russian-Arab Business Council

The Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov said that the development of the relations with the Arab countries was one of the main priorities of the Russian foreign policy and appreciated the role of RABC in that sphere. He also said that he was sure that the support of the economic partnership with the Middle East would promote the stability in the world energy market.

The opening speech of Vladimir Yevtushenkov, Chairman of the RABC Russian side, Chairman of Director’s Board of JSFC SISTEMA

Vladimir Yevtushenkov spoke about the activities of RABC and said that the Council contributed to the development of the economic relations between Russia and the Arab countries. He also touched upon the agenda of the Sixth Joint Session.

The speech of Valentina Matvienko, the governor of Saint Petersburg

Valentina Matvienko spoke about the cooperation between companies from Saint Petersburg and the Arab countries and appreciated the role of St. Petersburg in the Russian economy. She was sure that the Session would help widen the dialogue with the Middle East.

The speech of Ilya Khlebanov, the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwest Federal District

Ilya Khlebanov pointed out the fast investment growth being witnessed by the Northwest Federal District and added that the work of RABC beyond doubt helped to develop the Russian-Arab relations in the spheres of investment, economy and commerce.

The speech of Alexander Konovalov, the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District

Alexander Konovalov dwelled on the importance of the Volga Federal District for the Arab business in the sphere of investment.

The speech of Dmitry Kozak, the plenipotentiary of the President of the Russian Federation in the South Federal District

Dmitry Kozak called on the participants of the Session to pay attention to the South Federal District and make use of its wide opportunities of the cooperation with the Arab countries in most economic spheres.

The speech of Adnan Kassar, the Chairman of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for the Arab countries

Adnan Kassar thanked Vladimir Putin for the attention he paid to the development of the Russian-Arab relations and called on the Russian companies to cooperate with the Arab companies. Mr.Kassar also spoke about his participation in the World Economic Forum which took place in St. Petersburg in June, 2006.

Kalmykia – a suitable region for investment. The speech of Kirsan Ilumzhinov, the President of the Republic of Kalmykia

Kirsan Ilumzhinov pointed out that in modern times the regional peculiarities of development played a very important role in investment and one of the most important activities to which the government of Kalmykia paid attention was the creation of the suitable conditions for investment and encouragement of the attraction of investment in the region economy.

The speech of Alexander Yakovenko, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation

Speaking about the cooperation between Russia and Arab countries, Alexander Yakovenko pointed out that the stable political relations and efforts necessary for the cultural dialogue required a suitable economic basis.

The speech of Ali Alkhanov, President of the Chechen Republic

Ali Alkhanov said that the Chechen Republic was interested in the development of the relations with the Arab countries and spoke about the existence of the conditions suitable for industry and cooperation with Arab companies in the republic.

The speech of Abdurrakhman Rashid Al-Rashid, the Chairman of the Council of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Saudi Arabia

Abdurrakhman Rashid Al-Rashid stressed the importance of the economic relations between Russia and the Arab countries and spoke about great financial, human and natural resources of the Arab countries on the one hand, and about the technologies, technical resources and industrial development of the Russian Federation on the other hand. He also expressed his satisfaction with setting the bilateral business councils.

The speech of Tatyana Gvilava, Director of RABC, Counsellor of the Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Tatyana Gvilava spoke about the great opportunities of the development of the Russian-Arab relations, first of all in the economic sphere, and characterized Russia as one of the world leaders in terms of the economic growth rates and a country suitable for investment. She called on the Arab countries to invest in the Russian economy.

The economic situation in the Arab world and the relations with the Russian Federation. The speech of Dr. Ilyas Gantous, Secretary General of the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for the Arab countries

Dr. Gantous pointed out the economic and social progress and economic and legislative reforms being witnessed by the Arab world and said that the economic and commercial relations between Russia and Arab countries had great prospects.

The speech of Igor Vdovin, Director General of the Investment Development Agency in the South Federal District

Igor Vdovin drew the participants’ attention to the unique opportunities existing in the South Federal District and spoke about the activities of his organization.

The speech of Dmitry Pumpyansky, Co-chairman of the Russian-Syrian Business Council, Chairman of Directors’ Board of JSC TMK (Pipe Metallurgy Company)

Dmitry Pumpyansky emphasized that the cooperation between the Arab world and Russia created new spheres of interaction in the main economic sectors and said that the work of the Russian-Syrian Business Council had defined several joint priorities of the cooperation.

The speech of Tariq Abdulhadi Al-Kahtani, Co-chairman of the Saudi-Russian Business Council, Chairman of Directors’ Board of the group of companies “Abdulhadi and Sons”

Tariq Abdulhadi Al-Kahtani dwelled on several joint Saudi-Russian projects and expressed hope for the effective implementation of those projects.

The present stage and the future activities of the Russian-Algerian Business Council

Mikhail Gutseriev, President of JSC Oil Company RUSSNEFT, stressed that the structural changes in Algeria and Russia which had altered the economy of the countries, played an important role in their cooperation. He said that the relations between the two countries were based on the principles of free trade, equal partnership and aspiration to the mutually beneficial cooperation.

The speech of Aras Agalarov, President of JSC CROCUS-International

Aras Agalarov spoke about the showroom “CROCUS-International” and invited the Arab participants of the Session to visit the exhibition “Arabia Expo2007”.

The speech of Kamil Abdurrakhim, Co-chairman of the Algerian-Russian Business Council

Kamil Abdurrakhim said that the Algerian-Russian Business Council strived after the development of the mutually beneficial partnership for the prosperity of Algeria and Russia.

The speech of Ahmed Belhasa, Co-chairman of the Emirati-Russian Business Council

Ahmed Bilhasa expressed the hope that the Emirati-Russian Business Council would play a considerable role in strengthening the economic, commercial and investment relations between Russia and the UAE.

The speech of Jehad Hassan Bu-Kamal, Treasurer of the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Jehad Hassan Bu-Kamal informed the participants of the Session that Bahrain had introduced a comprehensive reform programme, creating conditions suitable for the attraction of investment in all the economic spheres.

The speech of Muhammed Atyia Al-Fayumy, Secretary General of the Egyptian Chambers of Commerce

Muhammed Atyia Al-Fayumy suggested that Russian companies should make use of Egypt’s membership of the World Trade Organization, the Egyptian-European Partnership Agreement and other agreements and take advantage of all the available privileges.

The speech of Ahmed Al-Shakhabi, a representative of the Syrian delegation

Ahmad Al-Shakhabi appreciated the work of Syrian-Russian Business Council and its obvious aspiration to strengthen the cooperation of the countries.

Sessions of bilateral councils within the framework of the Russian-Arab Business Council took place. The participants of the sessions stressed the necessity of widening the cooperation between Russia and the Arab countries. You can find detailed information about those sessions in this magazine.