11 December 2024
On December 10, the first Offsite Session to promote
Russia's business and investment potential took place in Istanbul, Turkey,
organized by the Roscongress Foundation with the support of the Embassy of the
Russian Federation and the Trade Mission of the Russian Federation in the
Republic of Turkey. Turkish and Russian business associations, business
representatives, and government officials discussed ways to expand bilateral
trade through new investment projects and product opportunities.
The session
gathered over 360representatives of Russian and Turkish businesses, business
associations, media, and government bodies.
The central
theme of the discussions was strengthening bilateral cooperation and expanding
trade and economic relations. The event aimed to not only showcase existing
mechanisms supporting collaboration between Russian and foreign companies but
also explore new models of cooperation to overcome challenges in the
transforming global economy.
In his welcome
address, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation
to the Republic of Turkey Aleksei Erkhov
stated: "Trade and economic relations between Russia and Turkey are
developing now in a difficult foreign policy environment. The current situation
is characterized by the presence of serious challenges for the economic
entities of our countries. At the same time, at crisis and turning points in
history, there is a chance to reassess values and tasks, in particular in the
economic sphere, and develop new more effective forms and methods of work. It
seems that both Russia and Turkey have a similar chance now. In this context,
the events of the Roscongress Foundation can become an effective platform for
developing joint actions and strengthening mutually beneficial and equal
partnership".
Turkey, as one
of the world's top 20 economies, has the capacity to fill market niches
traditionally occupied by Western companies with its products. Promising areas
highlighted during the session include technological imports as well as the
supply of Turkish equipment and goods.
"Despite
a number of constraints, cooperation between Russia and Turkey remains at a
dynamic level. Our cooperation is conducted both at the intergovernmental,
interregional and event levels. As a result, the share of Russian business in
the Turkish market is growing, there is a trend towards localization of Russian
production, promising areas are developing: digital sphere, electronic
commerce, creative industry. In this context, the events of the Roscongress
Foundation play a special role due to their authority and the opportunities
they open up for Turkish business," said Trade Representative of the
Russian Federation in Turkey Aidar
Gashigullin.
Russia and
Turkey are currently cooperating actively in the energy sector. Together with
the Russian corporation Rosatom, the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant is under
construction in Turkey, set to supply around 10% of Turkey’s electricity needs.
Additionally, Russia provides up to 50% of Turkey’s natural gas requirements,
including through the TurkStream pipeline under the Black Sea. Tourism also
remains a vital area of collaboration: in 2023, Turkey welcomed over 7 million
Russian tourists, far exceeding arrivals from other countries.
Speakers
highlighted that Turkey is also one of the largest importers from Russia, in
turn, Russia ranks 4th in terms of exported goods and services from Turkey.
Further
economic growth between the two countries is anticipated, supported by
Roscongress Foundation’s projects, including major Russian business forums,
showcased during the session.
"During
his meeting with President Putin in Astana on July 3, 2024, Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan emphasized Turkey's
goal to achieve $100 billion in trade with Russia[1].
The infrastructure for significant trade growth between our countries already
exists: in the first half of 2024, trade reached $28 billion. The Roscongress
Foundation sees its mission as bringing together Russian and Turkish businesses
to achieve this target. Today's session is just the beginning of a broader
dialogue, which must continue at platforms like the St. Petersburg
International Economic Forum, the Russian Energy Week, the Caucasus Investment
Forum, and others. Turkish companies are well-acquainted with these formats:
for example, in 2024, Turkish businesses actively participated in SPIEF,
representing sectors such as logistics, construction, wholesale trade,
machinery, and pharmaceuticals. Today's discussions will form the foundation
for proposals to further develop trade, which I hope will continue in
Russia," said Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Roscongress Foundation Alexander Stuglev.
The importance
of strengthening Russian-Turkish relations was also emphasized by
Representative of the Turkish Ministry of Trade Ali Alperen Kachar and
Chairman of the Turkish-Russian Business Council (DEIK) Izzet Ekmekcibashi. Speakers highlighted Russia as a long-standing
business partner of the Turkish Republic and successes in cooperation, for
example, in the field of construction (Turkey is the third country after China
in terms of the number of contracts implemented), medical tourism, education
and in the creative industries, the volume of investments is growing. The
speakers also noted that Russia's current policy is aimed at evenly
distributing investments and opportunities for cooperation between all regions.
The session
concluded with a panel discussion where participants shared success stories of
Russian-Turkish cooperation and their perspectives on overcoming current
challenges. Special attention was given to collaboration within the St.
Petersburg International Economic Forum framework.
Panelists included
Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Business Association (RTIB) Erdem Acay,
Representative of OPORA Russia in Turkey's Marmara and Aegean regions İsmet
Biner, Deputy Director of the Roscongress Foundation and Director of SPIEF Alexei
Valkov, Chairman of the Turkish Machinery Manufacturers Association (MIB) Emre
Gençer, Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Trade House "ROST" Kadir
Kurtuluş, Representative of the Russian Export Center in Turkey Timur Safin,
and Representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian
Federation in Turkey Vladimir Emmer.
