OREANDA-NEWS. October 2, 2012. The 11th International Investment Forum has been held in Sochi. This is the main floor for presentation of investment projects of Russian regions. Traditionally, the Forum discusses a broad range of issues related to the formation of efficient mechanisms for the country’s economic growth. This year’s Forum highlighted competitiveness of countries and territories, and investment and innovative development of Russia in the new phase of economic transformations. The promotion of private investments in industries, infrastructure and tourism and the development of sport infrastructure in public-private partnership projects were the focal point.

Russian government leaders, Russian and foreign businessmen, scientists and experts in modernization and innovative development of the domestic economy attended Forum meetings, roundtables and panel discussions.

The Forum has developed into a key international investment floor through the years of its existence.

This floor became particularly authoritative after President Vladimir Putin started taking part in the Forum in 2005. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev attended the Forum this year.

It is gratifying that the CCI of the Krasnodar territory is a co-organizer and technical operator of the Forum. A joint stand of the CCI of Russia, Expocenter and the World Trade Center Moscow was presented at the forum to display programs assisting the attraction of investments.

CCI of Russian President Sergey Katyrin had a busy program at the Forum. He took part in the business lunch of JSC Sberbank of Russia in the morning of September 21 (the business lunch had the theme, “Does one sleep better but live worse wherever there is no competition?” JSC Sberbank of Russia CEO German Gref was the moderator).

The participants took a keen interest in the roundtable, “Development of Entrepreneurship in the Russian Accession to the WTO and the Common Economic Space”. Member of the CCI of Russia Board Presidium, Board Chairman of the Razvitiye Association of Russian Agencies for Small and Medium Business Support Viktor Yermakov moderated the roundtable.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev took the floor at the plenary meeting, “Competitiveness: The Question of Development or the Question of Survival?” He noted, in particular, that Russia could take the leading economic positions. Russia should take a place amongst the top 40 economies of the world and later on be listed amongst the top 20 economies, the Russian prime minister said. Currently, Russia ranks 67th. The key problems to be solved are low competitiveness of Russian commodities, corruption and modernization of the bureaucratic machinery, Dmitry Medvedev said. It is also necessary to analyze the possibility of broadening powers of Federation constituents in the regulation of entrepreneurship.

A number of agreements and documents were signed in the attendance of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. The Anti-Corruption Charter of Russian Business was one of them. CCI of Russia President Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) Alexander Shokhin, Business Russia President Alexander Galushka and OPORA of Russia President Sergey Borisov signed the document.

The roundtable, “Southern Russia – Southern Italy: Prospects for Cooperation in Tourism and Resort Industry”, was held on September 22. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia President Sergey Katyrin was the roundtable moderator.

Russian Union of Travel Industry Vice-President, Chairman of the CCI of Russia Committee on Entrepreneurship in Tourism, Resort, Recreation and Hospitality Industry Yury Barzykin, JSC Russian Agency for Small and Medium Business Support General Director Viktor Yermakov and President of the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce Rosario Alessandrello attended the roundtable.

The participants stated that support to competitiveness of a number of domestic economy sectors was a task to solve in the Russian accession to the World Trade Organization. Tourism and resort industry is a sector the most interested in such backing. Southern Italy could be a partner of Russian tour operators. Italian and Russian participants in the roundtable exchanged experience of the tourism industry development and mapped out ways of cooperation.

Sergey Katyrin noted upon the end of the roundtable that they had had an interesting discussion and analyzed problems of incoming and domestic tourism in Russia. The issue is particularly topical in the light of the Sochi Winter Olympic Games 2014. The participants reached an understanding on the prospective joint actions in that field.

After the roundtable, the Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce and the JSC Special Economic Zones signed a cooperation agreement. The document was signed by JSC Special Economic Zones General Director Oleg Kostin and Italian-Russian Chamber of Commerce President Rosario Alessandrello.

The agreement stipulates assistance of the Chamber to the building up of the investment appeal of special economic zones and the informing of potential investors about terms of investments in special economic zones. JSC Special Economic Zones will draft investment projects for special economic zones, assist the implementation of joint projects and do some other work.