OREANDA-NEWS. A joint session of business councils of Russia and the Kingdom of Bahrain timed to the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between the two states.

In the attendance of the session were more than 30 top managers and representatives of banks and companies including those from high-tech sectors from Russia and Bahrain.

In his opening address Chairman of the Russian-Bahraini Business Council (RBBC), Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev said that "in Russia the Kingdom of Bahrain is regarded as an important partner in the Middle East, an influential member of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf... In the past two-three years, the number of contacts between businessmen and exchanges of delegation has increased. This made it possible to get to know better each other's needs and capabilities".

In Mr.Dmitriev's opinion, the Business Council should give top priority to changing a style of cooperation and putting a potential created in the recent years into practice as well as to assisting in conducting transactions.

The Russian-Bahraini Business Council comprises 30 organizations and companies representing the following sectors: information technology, innovations, power engineering, shipbuilding, construction industry, food industry, logistics, medical industry, agriculture, petrochemistry, small and medium-size enterprises, finances. In the course of the session, Russian companies made presentations of their commercial offers.

In the course of the session, the Russian sidelaunched an initiative to develop a plan of regular, goal-directed contacts both as part of the Business Council and in a wider formatwith leading banks, foundations and industrial companies of Bahrain, that is, with those who are interested in Russian exports as well as in investments and joint funding for Russian projects.

At present, VEB is exploring the possibilities of cooperation with Bahraini financing institutions and foundations in project and debt financing and it is also holding consultations with Bahraini banks on using Islamic finance mechanisms. A working group set up at the Bank is responsible for considering a whole range of issues related to applying these mechanisms in Russia.

In the course of the session, there was a meeting between Chairmen of Business Councils of Russia and Bahrain - Vladimir Dmitriev andKhalid Al Moayed.

VEB has been in charge of the Russian Bahraini Business Council (RBBC) since 2007. During this period, its membership has been qualitatively renewed. Major companies, financing institutions and other organizations joined it. Vnesheconombank's main task is to provide support for promoting Russian industrial exports to Bahrain as well as assist Russian companies in implementing joint investment projects. Financial development institutions of Russia and Bahrain signed in December of 2008 their first Russian-Bahraini financial agreement designed to expand trade turnover between the two countries with the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.