OREANDA-NEWS. April 19, 2016. PhosAgro CEO and Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Management Board Member Andrey Guryev participated in a meeting of the Russian business community with the Foreign Minister of Argentina Susana Malcorra. 

The meeting took place with the support of the Russian Federation Chamber of Industry and Trade, and was attended by representatives of Russian businesses interested in cooperation with the Argentine Republic.

Russian Federation Chamber of Industry and Trade Vice President Georgy Petrov opening the meeting noted that Argentina and Russia have a 130-year history of trade and economic friendship and both sides are interested in expanding this relationship.

Susana Malcorra said: “The new Government has started its work.  Of course we have many hard tasks ahead that will require a large amount of challenging work, but we are convinced that it is possible to overcome these difficulties and we will work tirelessly to do so.  The most important factors to achieve this are the openness of the country and its integration with the rest of the world.  We have come here to confirm our Government’s commitment to this policy and to say that we are open for a dialogue and ready to continue cooperation with the Russian Federation.” 

Andrey Guryev, the co-chair of the business dialogue from the Russian side, said: “The RSPP and the Argentine Industrial Union established the Russo-Argentine business dialogue in October of last year as a way to support the expansion of trade between Russia and Argentina by improving direct contacts between industry organisations from both countries.  We have already agreed on the individuals and business associations from Russia and Argentina that will be members of the business dialogue.  We have also agreed to hold the first official meeting of the business dialogue ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.”

Two of the key areas of trade between the countries are agricultural products and the mineral fertilizers needed for efficient agricultural production.  For the Russian mineral fertilizers sector, Latin America (including Argentina), just like the domestic Russian market, is a priority market. In his speech Andrey Guryev noted the existence of restrictive import duties on high-quality DAP produced in Russia, and expressed hope that the Government of Argentina would address this issue.

In response, Susana Malcorra underscored that Argentina intends to implement a number of measures aimed at increasing agricultural output.