Myanmar is a very relevant and interesting direction for Russian entrepreneurs, said Alexander Kopkov, Director of the Foreign Relations Department of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, opening the founding meeting of the Russian-Myanmar Business Council, held on March 21 at Ilyinka.
Alexander Kopkov spoke about the institution of business councils and their history and role in promoting the interests of entrepreneurs in foreign markets. Business councils play an important role in the work of intergovernmental commissions, being a direct bridge between business and the economic bloc of the government. This is certainly necessary for identifying systemic problems and finding solutions to problematic issues for the development of trade and economic cooperation between countries.
During business contacts, representatives of Myanmar also demonstrate their interest in developing cooperation with companies from the Russian Federation, in particular, in the fields of exploration and production of oil and gas, mining (precious stones and metals), glass and jewelry production, light industry, telecommunications, tourism, supplies of mineral raw materials, fertilizers, timber. Deliveries of rice and coffee have been arranged from Myanmar to Russia, and the Myanmar side offers rice, fruits and vegetables for export to the Russian Federation, A. Kopkov said.
The Director of the Department of External Relations pf the Chamber proposed to elect Alexei Shuplov, General Director of Technoimport JSC, as the Chairman of the Russian-Myanmar Business Council, who was elected unanimously.
Speaking to the meeting, Myanmar's Ambassador to the Russian Federation Lwin U noted that since Myanmar and Russia established bilateral relations in 1948, this year marks the 75th anniversary of these relations. “I am proud that the creation of the Russian-Myanmar Business Council now coincides with this very special moment,” said the Ambassador. Bilateral trade and economic relations between Myanmar and Russia have gradually developed increased from year to year. The main export commodities are rice, clothes, shoes. According to statistics from Myanmar, in the fiscal year 2020-2021, the volume of bilateral trade between the two countries was 15.7 US dollars. However, by 2022 it has increased to more than US$335 million.
The Myanmar Ministry of Commerce predicts that trade between the two countries will increase to $1 billion, the Ambassador said.
Deputy Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia Ekaterina Evgrafova called tourism a priority area for the development of joint business projects, which could be facilitated by the opening of direct flights between the two countries. She called the holding of educational events an important direction in order to give Russian entrepreneurs an idea of the Myanmar partners.
Alexei Kalashnik, Deputy Chairman of the Russia-ASEAN Business Council, congratulated the meeting participants on the start of the work of the Russia-Myanmar Business Council and noted that the volume of trade between the two countries should be increased to $1 billion.
The meeting was attended by representatives of the business community Maxim Kotelnikov, Deputy PR Director - Head of the International Cooperation Department, Russian Ecological Operator; Sergey Nazarov, General Director, Trans-Show Tour LLC; Irina Rudenko, Head of Department for Work with Public Authorities, JSC "National System of Payment Cards", Artur Ibatullin, Head of Commercial Directorate, INTER RAO - Export; Stanislav Mertens, Head of Export Projects, R-Pharm JSC.
SHUPLOV Aleksey Igorevich - General Director of JSC "TECHPROMIMPORT" was born in 1964 in Moscow. Since 1991, he has worked in senior positions in the Russian industrial group MDM, the gold mining company JSC Polyus. Actively participates in the activities of business councils and industry business associations - the Russia-ASEAN Business Council, the Russian-Chinese Business Council, the Association of Aluminum Producers and Consumers (Aluminum Association). In 2005 he founded the TECHPROMIMPORT group of companies. The main activity of the TECHPROMIMPORT group of companies is industrial engineering and the implementation of high-tech projects in industry, the energy sector and the transport sector.
Press Service of the Chamber
