14/11/2017

Press release: Russia-Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs Chairmen Andrey Guryev and Antonio Estrany y Gendre Hold First Joint Forum

Moscow – Andrey Guryev, member of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, chairman of the Russia-Argentina Council of Entrepreneurs, CEO of PhosAgro, and Antonio Estrany y Gendre, chairman of the Russia-Argentina Council of Entreprneurs, organised and held the council’s first joint forum. The event took place last week in Buenos-Aires (Argentina). A memorandum on co-operation between the councils was signed by both sides during the forum.

The Russian side was represented by the head of the Federal Service for Veterinary and Phytosanitary Surveillance, the Russian chairman of the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentine Commision of Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation Sergey Dankvert, Executive Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Viktor Cherepov, Deputy CEO of PhosAgro for Government Relations Valery Fedorov, as well as representatives of the Russian Export Centre, and of leading Russian companies from industries such as metallurgy, machine building and rail transport. Viktor Koronelli, the Ambassador of Russia to Argentina, and Sergey Derkach, the Trade representative of the Russian Federation in Argentina, also participated in the forum.

From the Argentinian side, first Deputy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Argentine Republic Daniel Raimondi, chairman of the Buenos-Aires Stock Exchange Adelmo Gabbi, and representatives of major Argentinian businesses participated in the forum.

Russian companies involved in the Business Mission presented their ideas for increasing trade turnover between Russia and Argentina. Meetings were organised for them with major Argentinian companies and state structures.

“There are still two months until the end of the year, but now we can already say with confidence that 2017 was a breakthrough year for Russia and Argentina in terms of strengthening and expanding our cooperation. We expect that joint projects in the fields of transport, including railways, machine building and agriculture will receive a new impetus. For me, as the President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers, it is important to note that in August of this year, thanks to joint efforts and a constructive dialogue with our Argentinian colleagues, an agreement was reached to lift the 6% import duty on high-quality diammonium phosphate (DAP). Last year, PhosAgro supplied about 150 thousand tonnes of this product to Argentina; in 2017 fertilizer sales have already increased by 30% year-on-year. As we know, Argentina was chosen to chair the G20 and the B20 summits in 2018. This is a huge responsibility and an excellent opportunity for the country to implement its foreign policy agenda, which focuses on international cooperation, and to analyse the remaining unresolved issues. In addition, we plan to hold the second Forum of Councils in 2018, which will be held in Moscow within the framework of the World Cup,” noted the Chairman of the Russia-Argentina Business Council, PhoAgro CEO and President of the RAFP Andrey Guryev.

During the visit Andrey Guryev together with the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE) attended several bilateral meetings with the leaders of governmentral and social structures of Argentina. A meeting was held with the President of the Argentine Industrial Union, Miguel Acevedo. The main agenda was the cooperation plan discussion between two countries within the framework of the "Business Twenty" (B20) in 2018. The Executive Vice-President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, Viktor Cherepov, proposed to the management of the Industrial Union of Argentina to organize a "Russia-Latin America" round table during the St Petersbug International Economic Forum in 2018 to discuss bilateral B2B cooperation.

Andrey Guryev also met with the Argentinian Minister of Industry, Francisco Cabrera. During the meeting, a thorough exchange of views took place on the outlook for strengthening trade and economic relations between Russia and Argentina, including a number of investment projects in the mining and transport sectors, including RZhD’s participation in the modernisation of Argentina’s railways along with the supply of locomotives and rolling stock.

A meeting also took place with the heads of the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentine Commission for Trade-Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation (head of the Russian part of the IGC - Sergei Dankvert, head of Rosselkhoznadzor; head of the Argentine part of the IGC - Horacio Reyser, Argentina’s Secretary of International Economic Affairs). Andrey Guryev represented the interests of Russian business structures in the role of Chairman of the Russia-Argentina Business Council at this meeting. Participants in the meeting discussed current cooperation issues and the agenda of the next IGC meeting in Moscow in 2018.

“Argentina is traditionally one of Russia’s key trading partners in Latin America. Bilateral trade started to grow once again this year, increasing by 11.5% to USD 847 million in January-August 2017. Current projections suggest that by the end of the year this figure will approach USD 1 billion. I would like to express my hope for further success, for implementation of the signed memorandum, for the interests of business representatives of both counties to be considered, and for our governments to support these undertakings. I think that there are significant opportunities for us both. I am glad that the councils of Russian and Argentinian entrepreneurs have resumed their activities, I am sure that we find ourselves at the beginning of a great journey. The Russia-Argentina Council is led by Andrey Guryev, who is a hard-working man,” stressed Sergey Dankvert, Director of Rosselkhoznadzor, and Chairman of the Russian part of the Intergovernmental Russian-Argentinian Commission of Trade and Scientific cooperation.

“After several years of inactivity, the Russian Council has resumed its work following the appointment of Andrey Guryev as its Chairman. I want to thank all the representatives of Russian business who during these days have engaged in very fruitful work with our Argentinian colleagues. There is no doubt that the renewal of the collaboration between the councils of Russian and Argentinian entrepreneurs will become essential and a concrete contribution to the development of bilateral economic relations. I want to wish all the participants of this process further success for the benefit of both themselves and Russian-Argentinian bilateral interests,” the Russian Ambassador to Argentina Viktor Koronelli noted in his speech at the end of the Forum.

“The signing of this memorandum marks a new stage in the activities of both councils and cooperation between our countries. The relationship between Argentina and Russia have always been good, but we have something to strive for. Looking at trade turnover, I see that there is great potential for development. I want to thank Andrey Guryev for his work, for the attendance of key companies and the delegation that he heads. I would also like to say a word of thanks to the Russian Embassy in Argentina, the Russian Trade Delegation to Argentina, Mr Dankvert, head of the Russian-Argentinian IGC for their accomplishments,” stated the Chair of the Argentina-Russia Council of Entrepreneurs Antonio Estrany y Gendre.

“A constructive dialogue has begun about the joint actions of Argentinian and Russian employers' associations, a dialogue that would allow for collaborative action to attain goals set out by the G20 for 2018 and beyond,” said Viktor Cherepov, Executive Vice President of RUIE.

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