OREANDA-NEWS. A Russian-Norwegian business conference has taken place at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce (NRCC).

Vice-President Alexander Rybakov met with members of the Norwegian-Russian Chamber of Commerce Board, among them NRCC Board Chairman Thomas Michelet, NRCC Executive Director Jarle Forbord, Norwegian Seafood Council Director Jan Eirik Johnsen and Lukoil Overseas North Shelf Executive Director Leonid Surguchev, before the conference.

Alexander Rybakov said that the CCI of Russia valued high the NRCC activity. In over ten years of its existence it has become a recognizable brand in Norway and Russia. The NRCC unites practically all the Norwegian companies which are doing business in Russia and leading Russian entities - Vnesheconombank, Rosneft, Lukoil and the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

Joint arrangement of large Russian-Norwegian business forums has become an important area of relations between the CCI of Russia and the NRCC, Alexander Rybakov said. These forums have been landmark events for the business communities of both countries and each of them attracted over 300 businessmen from Russia and Norway. The fourth Russian-Norwegian business forum will open at the CCI of Russia Congress Center on April 2, 2014. The Chamber vice-president invited the audience to take an active part in it.

Alexander Rybakov proposed to hold more meetings dedicated to particular industries and to diversify the traditional cooperation structure. For instance, he expressed the readiness to assist Norwegian colleagues in their involvement in major Russian infrastructural projects and federal target programs. The vice-president is also confident that more attention should be given to reciprocal investment, which can become an engine of broader contacts between small and medium businesses.

Nordic cooperation is a separate item, which has been traditionally placed high on the Russian-Norwegian agenda. The international business summit of Arctic chambers and business associations due in Murmansk on November 20, 2013, will be the next inter-chamber event.

The Norwegian wish to concentrate attention on geographically close regions is understandable but broader contacts should be considered - Norway has vast prospects of partnership not only with Russia's northern territories but also with the Urals, the Volga region, the south and the Far East, Alexander Rybakov said.

The NRCC has signed cooperation agreements with seven territorial chambers and established close working relationships with some others. The CCI of the Yamal-Nenets district has recently asked the chambers for assistance in sending a business mission to Norway. The mission wants to study innovative technologies in fisheries, the energy sector, energy efficiency and port management and the experience of Norwegian companies in environmental, information, communication, medical and biological technologies, and СО2 collection and disposal techniques.

Alexander Rybakov noted that the Chamber welcomed and supported the NRCC efforts in the implementation of the Russian-Norwegian program of the promotion of youth businesses. The program has organized successful events in Arkhangelsk and Murmansk with the participation of the Arkhangelsk and Northern CCIs. The next meeting will be held in Moscow in the middle of November.

CCI of Russia badges of honor were bestowed on NRCC Board Chairman Thomas Michelet, NRCC Executive Director Jarle Forbord and head of the NRCC office in Russia Vladimir Bagreev.

In the opinion of Thomas Michelet, Russia and Norway have numerous opportunities to foster their trade and economic relations. That may be done in the oil and gas sector, fisheries, agriculture, new technologies and development of Arctic territories. Joint efforts in environmental safety and energy saving are of paramount importance.

Director of the Structural Research Center of the Ye. Gaidar Economic Policy Institute Alexei Vedev spoke about prospects of Russian-Norwegian business cooperation in the context of the current economic situation in Russia.

CCI of Moscow Vice-President Suren Vardanjan told the audience about Moscow's investment potential. In his words, the capital district received over a half of direct foreign investment attracted by Russia in 2012. Yet the sum of the investment was insignificant for a city that large, USD 4.2 billion.

The conference continued at panel meetings with the themes, “Russian-Norwegian cooperation in the oil and gas industry and ways of its further development”, “Cooperation in fisheries and shipbuilding”, “Financial instruments in Russian-Norwegian cooperation” and “The NRCC as an organization supporting Russian companies' operations on the Norwegian market”.