On September 12, 2023, a meeting of the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Far Eastern Federal District was held at the Eastern Economic Forum.

The meeting was chaired by the President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sergei Katyrin. The work of the Association of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Far Eastern Federal District was attended by the Director of the Department of Regional Development of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Ilya Zubkov, the President of the FESCO Transport Group Arkady Korostelev, who delivered a welcoming speech, and the Managing Director of the Vladivostok Sea Trade Port Nikolay Ermolaev.

Assessing the activities of the Chambers of the Far Eastern Federal District in the first half of 2023, Sergei Katyrin noted positive dynamics in the provision of services and attracting member organizations. The growth of the total volume of services compared to the same period in 2022 was 16.7%, the growth of the membership base was 10%.

Work continues on the development of regional legislation on chambers of commerce and industry. Thus, in 2023, the law “On the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Amur Region” was adopted; this law became the seventh regional law on the Chamber of Commerce and Industry adopted in the Far Eastern Federal District, along with the Primorsky Territory, the Sakhalin Region, the Kamchatka Territory, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), the Jewish autonomous region, Trans-Baikal Territory.

Speaking about the goals and objectives facing the system of chambers of commerce and industry, Sergei Katyrin drew the attention of the meeting participants to a number of instructions from the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin following the results of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, aimed, in particular, at the development of tourism infrastructure, vocational education, small and medium-sized businesses.

Noting the importance of the expert activities of the Chamber system both for the chambers of commerce and industry themselves and for Russian entrepreneurs and the 100th anniversary of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry expertise, celebrated in 2023, Sergey Katyrin emphasized the importance of developing expert activities, diversifying the chambers’ portfolio of expert services, as well as standardization systems “ CCI Expert" and "Inspectsert".

Expanding the geographic presence of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the region through the development of a network of branches/representative offices is one of the priorities in the work of the district chambers.

“It is important not only to maintain the functioning of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry at a high level in one point - the regional center, but also to develop the activities of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry throughout the region. This allows us to be closer to businesses that are remote from the regional administrative center,” said Sergei Katyrin.

With regard to work in the Euro-Asian Economic Union, Sergei Katyrin noted the Chamber’s participation in the implementation of a special program for financing industrial cooperation from the EAEU budget. Support for cooperation in the EAEU will be carried out collectively with the participation of representatives of the chambers of all five countries of the Union, he said.

In addition, Sergey Katyrin drew the attention of the heads of the Chambers of the Far Eastern Federal District to the need to develop the activities of public organizations at the chambers, regularly hold meetings with authorities on topical issues of business support, as well as the importance of meaningful participation of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the implementation of the regional investment standard and personnel training for business.

President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Primorsky Territory, President of the Association of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Far Eastern Federal District Boris Stupnitsky, in his speech, touched upon the topic of the formation and implementation of the “Eastern Vector” policy by the system of chambers of commerce and industry in the Russian Federation: ““Turning to the East” is not just a nationwide trend, it is serious actions to building a new export eastern-oriented structure, including the transfer of vacant logistics capacities, human resources for servicing foreign trade activities, this is the adaptation of government measures to support exports, taking into account the country specifics of potential importers of Russian products, measures for the reconstruction of port and railway infrastructure.”
  
The period 2022–2023 has seen major changes. The cargo flow turned from west to east, and Primorye acted as the main connecting link in this process.

Speaking about the work of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Primorsky Territory, Boris Stupnitsky noted the restoration and development of information exchange between China and Primorye, the development of congress and exhibition activities, and the holding, at the initiative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Primorsky Territory, of the “Days of the Primorsky Territory” within the framework of the 32nd Harbin International Trade and Economic Fair.

“Over the past two years, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Primorsky Kray has significantly intensified its work in the Vietnamese direction. As a result of the joint activities of the Trade Representation of Vietnam, the FESCO group of companies, and the Primorsky Territory Chamber of Commerce and Industry, a direct sea container line from Vladivostok to the ports of Vietnam was opened,” said Boris Stupnitsky.