Russian-Turkish business circles have a special relationship that allows them to overcome many difficulties in the international situation, said Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, in his address to representatives of business circles, investors and other interested parties. On May 25, the 2nd Forum "Russia - Turkey: New Challenges and Opportunities for Cooperation and Partnership" began with a televised greeting from the head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation.

Marina Alekseeva, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Ulyanovsk Region, said in her report that infrastructure facilities for new investment projects are being created in the region. 157 investment projects have been implemented and 28,000 jobs have been created. In particular, during the construction of the brewery of the Turkish company Efes, 200 million euros were invested and 270 jobs were created. The company MARTUR for the production of car seats has invested 10 million euros in the Ulyanovsk region. Marina Alekseeva reported that 4 foreign companies announced their withdrawal from the Ulyanovsk region.

Hayri Tokman, from a large Turkish construction investment firm Baskan Yardimcisi AntYapi, informed that his company continues to operate on the Russian market, despite, as he puts it, the “latest situation”. In Russia, we have built airports and residential complexes and the total investment amounted to 450 billion rubles and 120 billion is in the portfolio. "We're not experiencing any major downturns in sales as our segment is business class," he said.

According to the Turkish businessman, over the 30 years of work in Russia we have seen many crises, and "we had no thoughts of leaving the Russian market." “We emerge from each crisis stronger and stronger and see opportunities in Russia that are not in the US or the UK,” said Hayri Tokman.

Alexander Nektorov, a representative of the Nektorov, Saveliev & Partners law firm, analyzed the consequences of sanctions restrictions imposed on Russia and Turkey's role in this regard. According to him, in the new conditions, some principals are forced to create financial centers outside of Russia. There is a relocation of IT business, which transfers its companies to Turkey to Cyprus. “Turkey is an attractive country for the relocation of Russian companies,” said Alexander Nektorov.

Recalling that more than 30 countries have imposed sanctions against Russia, Nektorov drew attention to the fact that “not all of Russia is under sanctions, there are individuals, companies, territories (for example, Crimea) that are subject to business restrictions.” However, there are those with whom you can do business, the lawyer emphasized.

Burhan Ozkan, President of the production company CEO Inter-Cultural Media, which created the series “Sultan of My Heart” for the 1st channel of Russian television, noting the strengthening of ideological components in the global viewership market, called on Russians to better use the potential of “soft power” concentrated in culture and Russian literature.

“Russia is a colossal layer of literature. These are Sholokhov, Gogol and Tolstoy, on whom we were all brought up, ”he recalled. "Why don't you use this richest layer of Russian literature to defend the interests of your country?" - Burkhan Ozkan asked a question, emphasizing that one should look for ways to the minds and hearts of people on the basis of works of Russian literature.

According to him, Russia and Turkey do not live only in the same geographical area. “We are very close mentally and familially – we are very close – we think alike, we have the same worries and we should not only watch American shows that uphold American values,” said a Turkish filmmaker. Burhan Ozkan said that he was ready to make a continuation of the series "The Sultan of My Heart", which was very popular with viewers, and drew attention to the fact that at present, in the global viewership market, Hollywood series are two times inferior to Turkish series, which are sold in 150 countries around the world.

“You cannot conquer the world with weapons alone, but you must conquer it with soft power,” said the Turkish producer.

The applied session “Development of Industrial Dialogue between the Businesses of the Two Countries” that took place during the forum was related to attracting Turkish businesses to the regions of Russia and consisted of presentations from various regions, as well as the Association of Industrial Parks of Russia, which was presented by Maxim Paznikov and the Russian Software Association Russoft, which was presented by Ivan Starodubtsev. The session was moderated by Maria Suvorovskaya, General Director of Business Dialog Media, Editor-in-Chief of the Russian Business Guide, Co-Chair of the Russian-Turkish Dialogue Association.

During the Forum, there were other sessions related to the interaction between Russia and Turkey.

By Petr Cheremushkin, Press Service of the Chamber