A special event dedicated to the presentation of the “Arabia-EXPO 2010” exhibition was hosted by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of the Russian Federation on Monday, December 21. The exhibition is organized under the patronage of the Russian-Arab Business Council (RABC) and backed by the CCI, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Arab League, and the General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of the Arab states. It is scheduled to take place in the Crocus Expo International Exhibition Centre, Moscow, Russian Federation on April 8-10, 2010.
The presentation, chaired by Mr. George Petrov, vice-president of the CCI, was attended by H.E.Ibrahim Jumaa Al-Farjani, Head of the Mission of the Arab League in Moscow, trade attachés of the Arab embassies, representatives of the exhibition’s partners including Intourist, BuildExpo City, and Crocus Expo, heads of Russian companies interested in the development of relations with partners from the Arab world, as well as representatives of the Russian press.
The event was started by Mr. Petrov who gave a speech covering the activities of the Russian-Arab Business Council and the results of the First “Arabia-EXPO” exhibition that took place in Moscow in 2008. Mr. Petrov considered the creation of a ground for efficient communication between Russian and Arab businessmen to be the chief result of the first exhibition and said, “this time we count not only upon the Arab partners, but also upon the Russian participants. The work in the regions of Russia [aimed at the promotion of the participation] has already started”.
H.E. Ibrahim Jumaa Al-Farjani said in his speech there were many promising spheres for the development of the Russian-Arab cooperation and voiced gratitude for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Russian-Arab Business Council for the efforts made in this direction. Mr. Al-Farjani mentioned that historically Arab markets used to be unavailable for Western companies. Recently this situation has changed, and at present the companies from the West dominate the markets of most of the countries in the Arab region. It is however possible , providing that the necessary efforts are taken by the Russian side, to extend the presence of the Russian business in the Arab states, and “Arabia-EXPO 2010” exhibition in Moscow is expected to serve this purpose as well. The Head of the Mission of the Arab League added that all the necessary measures aiming at the interaction with all the concerned parties in the Arab countries were being taken to provide for the success of the forthcoming event.
New opportunities for participants provided by the Crocus Expo exhibition centre were described by Mr. Mustafa Melikov, Deputy Director of the Centre for External Relations within the Crocus Expo Company. Mr. Melikov mentioned that the opening of the “Myakinino” station of the Moscow Metro with one of its exits leading to the exhibition centre as well as the functioning of the largest concert hall in the city and the Aquarium Hotel within the centre’s grounds present new opportunities for participants and organizers as well. Mr.Melikov stated that Crocus Expo at the moment had all the necessary options available to further ensure the success of the organization and operation of the Second “Arabia-EXPO” exhibition.
The results of the first “Arabia-EXPO” were explored in a speech delivered by Mr. Vladislav Lutsenko, the Director General of the exhibition. Mr. Lutsenko described the on-going activities to prepare for the upcoming event and the opportunities available for the Russian companies who would like to participate.
Mrs. Tatiana Gvilava, Director of the Russian-Arab Business Council, informed the audience of the most important activities of RABC in 2009, i.e. the “Business Dialogue Russia – The Arab World” section within the 2009 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum which became a ground for discussion about current trends in the development of trade, economic, and investment cooperation between Russia and the Arab countries; and the “Russia and Saudi Arabia: New Prospects for Trade and Economic Cooperation” business forum that took place in Jeddah in October, 2009. Mrs. Gvilava stressed the importance of work that is being done to increase the number of participants in the “Arabia-EXPO 2010” exhibition, develop and enhance the business programme of the event, arrange individual meetings between the participants, and promote the exhibition to attract more visitors.
“Arabia-EXPO 2010” is aimed at the encouragement of the trade and economic relations between businessmen in Russia and the Arab states, assistance for the participants in establishing partnerships, setting up bilateral meetings and negotiations to promote their products and services. It offers a unique opportunity to exchange expertise and develop business, a rich business programme, new contacts and cooperation opportunities, provides ground to look for interesting projects and suitable investments, and extends the geographical area of business interaction.
The exhibition is set to embrace all the spheres of cooperation that are of mutual interest to participants from Russia and the Arab countries.