OREANDA-NEWS. March 14, 2014. Export Agency of Russia (EXIAR), Sberbank CIB’s Trade Finance and Correspondence Relations Division and Sberbank of Russia’s Tatarstan Bank held a regional conference titled “State Support for Russian Export Focused Businesses on Foreign Markets”. The event took place at the Corporate & Investment Centre of Sberbank of Russia’s Tatarstan Bank.

The conference was organised with active participation and support from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economics of the Republic of Tatarstan and held as part of the “Agreement on Cooperation in the Area of Foreign Economic Activity between the Republic of Tatarstan and Sberbank of Russia”, which was signed in December 2013 by Rustam Minikhanov, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Herman Gref, CEO and Chairman of the Board of Sberbank of Russia.

At the conference, representatives of large, medium and small businesses were given a presentation of government measures for supporting Russian exports which are being carried out by government bodies, specialist organisations of Tatarstan, EXIAR and Sberbank of Russia in order to benefit the region’s export focused enterprises. Key speakers included Ruslan Kabirov, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Airat Nazmeyev, CEO of Republic of Tatarstan Export Corporation; Artur Nikolayev, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan; Konstantin Aksenov, Head of Customer Relations at EXIAR; Andrey Polyakov, Managing Director for Regional Development at EXIAR and Andrey Ivanov, Director of Trade Finance and Correspondence Relations Division at Sberbank CIB. The event was also attended by Maryam Davletshina, Deputy Director of Sberbank of Russia’s Tatarstan Bank.

The participants of the conference discussed pertinent issues regarding insuring export loans against business (commercial) and political risks, the potential for using insurance products developed by EXIAR to promote Russian exports and investments abroad, including new insurance products for exporters from the small business segment. In addition, they discussed the development of Russian exports in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

The Republic of Tatarstan is one of the most economically developed regions in Russia and actively participates in foreign economic affairs. The event generated a lively response from Tatarstan’s enterprises – over 100 clients from various industries and segments attended, including the region’s major exporters such as Zelenodolsk Plant named after A.M. Gorky, Kazan Helicopters, Kazanorgsintez, KAMAZ, Tatneft-Neftekhim Management Company, NEFIS Cosmetics, and other export focused businesses.

EXIAR representative Andrey Polyakov commented: “Thanks to the extensive interest in state support for exports and Tatarstan’s impressive export potential the conference was very well attended and we received constructive feedback including specific and very reasonable recommendations for developing mechanisms to support export focused companies.”

Andrey Ivanov remarked: “We see Tatarstan as one of the key areas for developing the Sberbank Group’s trade finance operations. The Republic is one of the leaders in terms of exports of advanced processing products and exports up to 50% of its industrial goods.”

“The servicing and financing of our clients’ foreign economic activity is a priority area of the Sberbank Group’s international business. The goals of the event are to help bring about an increase in the volume of foreign trade of the Republic of Tatarstan and also ensure that the programme for supporting export focused companies is carried out effectively,” concluded Maryam Davletshina.