The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, by the will of fate and the Russian state, acts as a moderator and is responsible for the work of the national parts of Russia in the BRICS and SCO Business Council, and together with the RSPP and the EAEU Business Council. This was announced on September 12 by the Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Vladimir Padalko, who spoke in Vladivostok before the participants in the meeting of the Eastern Economic Forum section “EAEU and BRICS: role in the formation of a new multipolar world.”

According to the Vice President of the Chamber, the content of all three integration associations corresponds to the activities of the RF Chamber of Commerce and Industry. “If the EAEU and BRICS are a pure economy, then the SCO is an organization dealing with regional security issues, and the work is built taking into account this specificity,” he said.

“What is the BRICS Business Council?” - Vladimir Padalko wondered. “By decree of the President of the Russian Federation, five large companies were delegated as the main link of Russian participation in this Business Council. It included the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Russian Railways, Vnesheconombank, RDIF (Russian Direct Investment Fund) and Rostec. These five, taking other companies with them, represented the Russian business community in the BRICS Business Council,” said V. Padalko.

There are 9 industry groups, which include our experts, said the Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. In accordance with which country is the chairman of the association, we carry out full-fledged work in these industry groups. Russian Railways is responsible for its segment in transport and logistics. Rostec is responsible for industry, Vnesheconombank for currency and finance issues. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation for small and medium-sized businesses. RDIF is a project.

“Of course, with our teams we cannot provide for the interests of the entire Russian business community. Naturally, we invite all industry associations of the Russian Federation and companies with state participation to our working groups,” said the Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Once a year, a set of provisions is compiled that we would like to convey to the leadership of the five, and now 11, states, including those that will join BRICS in 2024. At the BRICS summit, which takes place annually, the head of the national part that chairs the Business Council reports to the leadership of the “five” and reports these proposals so that they are then submitted to national governments for consideration.

Starting this year, it is important for us to integrate into the work of the BRICS Business Council those who join our ranks from January 1, 2024. Russia should use its BRICS chairmanship to “immerse” new members into our agenda and explain to them the rules of the game by which we have already been working for 10 years. This will be either a summit or a conference within a summit and there is no need to wait, but to involve and explain, Vladimir Padalko informed.

After the creation of the EAEU, much was unclear, but through national ministries of economic development, guidelines were made that later also turned out to be insufficient. Now we have come to order, and it has become easier for us to enter into practice and easier to convey our agenda and our desires to the Eurasian Economic Commission.

Of course, Vladimir Padalko admitted, there are difficulties in how to explain to BRICS members some of the features of the EAEU, for example, in the field of customs rules.

Our main task is to ensure that our partners understand what we are striving for and where we are moving. We see this as the main goal of the Chamber’s work in the year of the Russian presidency of BRICS, and of all business associations, Vladimir Padalko said in conclusion.

The discussion was also attended by Sammy Kotwani - President, Indian Business Alliance (IBA), Dmitry Krutoy - Ambassador of the Republic of Belarus to the Russian Federation, Mikhail Myasnikovich - Chairman of the Board, Eurasian Economic Commission, Alexey Overchuk - Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, Sergey Pavlov - First Deputy General Director, Russian Railways OJSC, Anil Suklal - Sherpa of the Republic of South Africa in BRICS, Sergey Storchak - Senior Banker, VEB.RF, He Zhenwei - Chairman, Chinese Association for the Development of Overseas Enterprises.

The discussion was moderated by Ksenia Komissarova, Editor-in-Chief of the International Media Network TV BRICS.

Press Service of the Chamber