Sergey Maksin, director of Rostec’s optical holding company and chairman of the Sverdlovsk Regional Department of the Russian Engineering Union, has been elected chairman of the Business Council for Cooperation with Switzerland.
The press office of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation (RF CCI) said that the following members had been appointed deputy chairpersons of the Business Council for Cooperation with Switzerland: Mikhail Lifshitz, director of the Renova Group’s High-tech Assets Business Development; Alexei Repik, chairman of R-Pharm’s board of directors and co-chairman of the All-Russia Business Organization Delovaya Rossiya (Business Russia); and Irina Ruzankina, chief expert of RF CCI’s Department of International Cooperation and Interrelations with Business Councils.
The chairman of the board and his deputies were elected during a constituent session of the Business Council held at the RF CCI. The Russian-Swiss forum ‘Modernization of the Economy and Innovations in Russia’, which will be held in Lausanne in May 2013, was also discussed at the meeting.
RF CCI Vice-President Georgi Petrov noted that Switzerland is one of Russia’s most important economic partners. According to Russian customs statistics, in 2012, the volume of goods exchanged between the two countries amounted to approximately USD 14 billion. Switzerland ranks 16th among Russia’s trading partners and 12th among its investment partners. The main areas of cooperation are in the finance sector, the high-tech industry and pharmaceuticals.
Swiss investors have shown significant interest in projects in Russia. In particular, the potential for constructing a factory to jointly manufacture micro technologies, as well as a perinatal centre, are being examined in the Samara Region.
2014 will mark 200 years of diplomatic relations between Russia and Switzerland, and summit meetings are planned in connection with the anniversary. Georgi Petrov also spoke about cooperation between the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation and its Swiss partners, particularly with regard to business missions and meetings between parliamentary groups.
