OREANDA-NEWS. Lenexpo Exhibition Complex was the scene of a roundtable entitled “Practical Aspects of Cooperating with Latin America,” hosted by the “Russia – Latin America” Business Centre.

Event participants stressed that trade-and-economic cooperation between Russia and Latin American states has been booming in recent years. As of year-end 2014, Russian exports to the region stood at USD 8.1 bln, while imports from Latin American countries amounted to USD 10.8 bln. According to the Chair of the Committee for the Development of Entrepreneurship and the Consumer Market – Elgiz Kachaev, Russia is taking a fresh look at the markets of a number of countries, including charting a course towards strategic partnership with the most developed states of Latin America – Argentina and Brazil. “To that end, Russia has created a vertically-integrated structure – the Russian Export Centre, which will help make export activity in Russia both more efficient and profitable. In our region, one of the centre’s partners is the St. Petersburg State Budgetary Institution “Centre for the Development and Support of Entrepreneurship,” which helps run comprehensive programmes in support of St. Petersburg-based export companies,” says Kachaev.

Another tool for assisting in the internationalisation of Russian business is the Regional Integrated Centre (RIC), whose aim is to help foster the development of international and interregional business, technological and scientific partnership among SME, as well as between R&D institutions in different countries. Based on the outcome of a national tender, the interests of the RIC network in St. Petersburg are represented by a regional consortium including the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to the Vice President of the St. Petersburg CCI – Ekaterina Lebedeva, efforts in this area include the hosting of a number of events such as training seminars for entrepreneurs, as well as assistance in the active search for partners and sources of financing, and the organisation of brokers’ events, consulting and awareness-raising campaigns.

As you may recall, the “Russia – Latin America” Business Centre opened at Lenexpo in May 2015, quickly becoming an important platform for interaction among the political, business and cultural circles of partner countries. The Business Centre hosts both regional and international events, with prominent area experts regularly invited as keynote speakers.