OREANDA-NEWS. November 6, 2012. The regular meeting of the RussiaTALK Investment Forum, an annual event organized by the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and the CCI of Russia, has been held in Moscow. The forum is an acknowledged ground of the business-power dialog and a representative of the interests of Russian and British companies. More than 200 Russian and British businessmen attended the meeting at the CCI of Russia Congress Center at 6, Ilyinka Street.

Chairman of the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce Board Roger Munnings was the forum mediator.

CCI of Russia President Sergey Katyrin greeted the delegates. He noted that RussiaTALK had become a traditional floor for meetings of Russian and British businessmen. The Russo-British Chamber of Commerce is the oldest in Russia; it was established in 1916 and unwaveringly promoted bilateral mutually beneficial economic relations even in the most difficult periods. His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent has been the Chamber Patron for the past 15 years. Russo-British relations are improving, and economic contacts are accelerating. The RBCC and HRH Prince Michael of Kent, the staunch supporter of the broadest contacts between the UK and Moscow, have contributed to that, Sergey Katyrin said.

Sergey Katyrin decorated HRH Prince Michael of Kent with the CCI of Russia Badge of Honor. The Chamber Head stressed that the award was bestowed exclusively on merited people who had made a weighty contribution to the intensification of trade, economic, scientific and technical relations with Russia.

HRH Prince Michael of Kent expressed in Russian his profound gratitude for the award.

He greeted the forum delegates and stressed that the RBCC and the CCI of Russia had done a lot for the development of bilateral relations. This year witnessed an improvement of Russo-British relations, while Russian and British businessmen had been cooperating actively for a long time and areas of their cooperation had been broadening.

The RBCC is fostering that work. The Chamber will mark its centenary in four years. HRH Prince Michael of Kent lauded cultural contacts and said that the UK had passed the Olympic baton on to Russia. He accentuated broad investment cooperation and said that Russia had been investing in the UK for a rather long time, while British investors who had been rather cautious about the Russian market became more active lately.

British Ambassador to Russia Tim Barrow developed the theme of the British-Russian dialog and cooperation. He stressed that the RBCC and the British Embassy in Russia actively supported bilateral economic and cultural contacts. The sphere of interest of British investors in Russian regions is broadening, and Russian businessmen invest in the UK. That is a natural and long-term process.

The forum held three sessions entitled “Direct Foreign Investments in Russia and the UK”, “Financial and Legal Support to Entrepreneurs and Business Success Stories” and “Soft Force – Cultural Cooperation as a Factor of Strengthening Economic Relations – A Look at the Russo-British Culture Year 2014”.

British MP Charles Hendry, CCI of Russia Vice-President Dmitry Kurochkin, HSBC bank representative David Watson, Moscow Exchange Group representative Sergey Sinkevich, JSC Special Economic Zones General Director Oleg Kostin, Moscow Investment and Export Promotion Agency General Director Suren Vardanian and some others took part in the discussion.

The forum speakers analyzed such important issues as the preservation and strengthening of investment stability and investor confidence in Russia, the development of new business technologies, the potential, the development and interaction between small and medium businesses of the two countries, the financing of small and medium business activity, the special economic zone as an instrument of attraction of investments and new technologies, the search for and training of investment project personnel, cultural cooperation as an important element of bilateral relations and economic contacts and some others.

Russian and British participants in the forum presented their opinions and discussed some other issues of mutual interests.