Artem Chayka took part in St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and Russian-Chinese Business Forum
St. Petersburg, 5-6 June 2019
During the course of the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the 4th Russian-Chinese Business Forum, the Roundtable dialogue entitled “A Strategy for Coupling the Greater Eurasian Partnership with the Belt and Road Initiative” was held. It was jointly organized by the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) Expert Council on complex issues of Eurasian economic integration, modernization, competitiveness and sustainable development; China Business Center in Russia; Pitirim Sorokin-Nikolai Kondratieff International Institute; EXPOFORUM Convention and Exhibition Centre, and the Russia-China Association on Research and Development of One Belt One Road Strategy. More than 130 scholars, representatives of business circles, and government officials from Russia, China and other countries took part in the event.
A delegation from the International Congress of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (ICIE) also participated in the Roundtable discussion. It was headed by the ICIE President Artem Chayka, who gave a presentation on prospects and opportunities, which include current programmes and projects, offered by the International Congress, that can be implemented by interested parties (i.e. ICIE members and partners) within the framework of the Greater Eurasian Partnership. These include initiatives to establish the necessary infrastructure for managing road and bridge networks; creating the Arctica SG International Center of Culture and Technology; innovative farming and medical technologies; organizing reliable and functional electric transport, and developing a system for monitoring export compliance and cryptocurrency activity. In his speech, Artem Chayka emphasized that the ICIE leadership views initiatives, promoted by Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, and Xi Jinping, the leader of the People’s Republic of China, on the future and importance of the Greater Eurasian Partnership and its coupling with China’s large-scale One Belt, One Road project as topical. He also stressed that they viewed the role of the International Congress as that of an organization facilitating involvement of the wider business community, representatives from interested businesses, and market entities from Eurasian countries in this work. Artem Chayka also expressed his satisfaction with the existing comprehensive ties between the International Congress and its Chinese counterparts, which include the China Overseas Development Association and the Russia-China Association on Research and Development of One Belt One Road Strategy.
During the Roundtable dialogue, informative presentations and speeches were made by a number of well-known scholars and public figures, such as Sergey Glazyev, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and an advisor to the president of the Russian Federation; Yury Yakovets, an academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the President of the Pitirim Sorokin-Nikolai Kondratieff International Institute; Chen Jigan, a Foreign Academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences and the Chairman of the Russia-China Association on Research and Development of One Belt One Road Strategy; He Zhenwei, the Deputy Secretary General of China Industrial Development Association; Alexander Ageev, the Director General of the RAS Institute for Economic Strategies, and many others.
The outcome of the Roundtable was a document with recommendations from the discussion panel, in which the participants of the event suggested focusing on specific directions of the two mega projects, i.e. the Greater Eurasian Partnership and the One Belt, One Road Initiative, including on the area of developing and implementing concrete programmes and innovative investment projects. These include cooperation in areas such as harnessing energy resources of the Arctic region; developing transport infrastructure, including that of the Northern Sea Route; recording innovative scientific research conducted in Eurasia; preparing and implementing a strategy on fostering breakthroughs in science and technology, and others.
In addition, during the Forum, a number of meetings were held between the ICIE President Artem Chayka and his Chinese colleagues, i.e. He Zhenwei, the Deputy Secretary General of China Industrial Development Association, and Chen Jigan, the Chairman of the Russia-China Association on Research and Development of One Belt One Road Strategy.
The event participants were satisfied with the fruitful discussions, which took place, that resulted in several mutually beneficial agreements in different economic sectors.