First Russian-Armenian Regional Business Forum

May 18, 2011

18-19 April 2011, Yerevan – under auspices of the Russian and Armenian Presidential Executive Offices the first Russian-Armenian Regional Business Forum was held in Armenia.

The Forum was organized by the Russian Federation, presented by the Development Fund “Institute Of Eurasian Studies” and Rossotrudnichestvo, and the Republic of Armenia, presented by the Government of Armenia and the Armenian Development Agency.

President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan took part in the opening ceremony of the Forum.

The Russian side was presented by Head of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Naryshkin, heads of federal and regional government bodies, business circles, representatives of non-profit organizations and experts. Including the representatives of the Russian Embassy in Armenia, the Trade Office of the Russian Federation in Armenia, the Eurasian Economic Community, the State Duma, the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Transport, Ministry of Regional Development, Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Energy, Culture, Industry and Trade, Rosatom, SC Rosnano, Gazprom and other organizations. UNIDO delegation’s (Messrs. R. Vujacie, Y.Akhvlediani and S. Korotkov) also took an active and constructive participation in the Forum. Director of the UNIDO Centre for International Industrial Cooperation in the Russian Federation Sergey Korotkov presented a report on the development of industrial cooperation between Russia and Armenia.

The Armenian side was presented by the Head of the Presidential Executive Office, heads of ministries and agencies, governors, businessmen and experts. Including the representatives of the Armenian Development Agency, the Union of Industrialists, the Chamber of Commerce, National Academy of Sciences, the Republic Union of Industrialists and other organizations.

The main themes of the Forum included the prospects of further decentralized cooperation, thedevelopmentofdirect economic linksbetween regions of the states on a wide range of issues, including economics, finance, small and medium business, tourism, energy, communications and telecommunications, advanced technology in various industries, as well as culture and education.

An interregional exhibition of industrial innovations was held in the framework of the Forum which gave an opportunity for enterprises and organizations to share the latest innovations and to define the ways for their further application in mutually beneficial projects.

The significant contribution to the development of interregional cooperation were 23 bilateral agreements and memorandums in various spheres, signed at the Forum. The participants expressed strong confidence in the prospects of inter-regional cooperation and welcomed the efforts of the regions of Russia and Armenia to develop mutually beneficial cooperation.