OREANDA-NEWS. December 13, 2010. The first regional practical conference “Vnesheconombank: the Bank for Development Top-Priority Lines of Activity” was held in the city of Kislovodsk, as part of the educational project “Training of Specialists – Participants in Investment Projects with the Assistance of Development Institutions”.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the North Caucasus Federal District, Alexandr Khloponin, and Management Board Member, Vnesheconombank First Deputy Chairman, Anatoly Tikhonov, gave a welcoming address to the conference’s participants.

In his address Alexandr Khloponin said that the conference should aim to maximally inform investment process participants on the specifics of development institutions’ activities, potential sources of financing their projects and effective mechanisms for implementing strategically important regional projects.

In the course of the conference its participants discussed main provisions of the comprehensive strategy for the development of the North Caucasus Federal District up to 2025, got a detailed idea of development institutions’ main lines of activities and role, principles and criteria of selecting investment projects at Vnesheconombank, were also informed on the largest investment projects implemented with Vnesheconombank’s participation including the ones carried out on the territory of the North Caucasus Federal District, terms of projects’ financial and organizational support with the use of public private partnership mechanisms, studied Vnesheconombank Group’s program of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises.

Among the speakers at the conference were representatives of Vnesheconombank, the Russian Regional Development Ministry, the Russian Economic Development Ministry, Vnesheconombank’s subsidiary banks namely, the Russian Development Bank (OJSC) and Svyaz-Bank (OJSC).

Speaking at the conference Anatoly Tikhonov said that an open joint stock company 100% owned by Vnesheconombank with a charter capital of 500 million rubles had been registered in Pyatigorsk. On the analogy with the Bank for Development it was named the North Caucasus Development Corporation. “We set ourselves a task of including up to 50 projects into its portfolio during the first year of its operation”, he stressed.

As part of the conference and with the assistance of the Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative’s Office a round table discussion “Investment Potential of the North Caucasus Federal District” was held. Its participants determined the size of resources required to implement top-priority regional projects and potential schemes of cooperation between interested parties.

All in all, in attendance of the conference were more than 80 representatives of the North Caucasus Federal District including heads of republics incorporated in the District, heads and representatives of the District’s ministries and departments responsible for monitoring investment activity in the District as well as top managers of profit making companies and the regional expert community.

The practical conference has become a key training format within Vnesheconombank’s educational project. It was intended above all for specialists and experts of companies engaged in preparing and implementing projects in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation.