Sharjah Chamber, Russian Business Council eye further economic growth, new investment opportunities

SHARJAH: On the sidelines of the UAE – Russia Business Forum, organised by the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, SCCI, Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, SCCI’s Chairman, held a bilateral meeting with Vladimir Platonov, President of the Moscow Chamber, to discuss the role of entrepreneurship in the sustainable development in both countries.

The two sides emphasised the role of commerce chambers, as being the first representative of the business community, in developing and bolstering this sector.

Al Owais said that the Emirate of Sharjah has paid great attention and support to the small and medium-sized enterprises and entrepreneurs, in view of the great strategic value of this sector in the national economy and its impactful role in reinforcing the GDP, as well as its contribution in providing employment opportunities, especially for youth.

In turn, Vladimir Platonov expressed his happiness with the meeting, underlining Moscow Chamber’s intention to open new prospects of cooperation with the SCCI, particularly in bolstering entrepreneurs, through the implementation of joint programs that would help reinforce the communication and build new partnerships to serve the interests of business communities.

In the same context, the chamber has signed MoU with the Russian Business Council. Inked by Abdullah Sultan Al Owais, SCCI’s Chairman, and Zagornov Maxim, General Advisor to the Russian Business Council and Business Ambassador to UAE, the agreement aims at opening new communication channels between the institutions and businessmen in the two countries, in order to enhance the economic growth and help create new investment opportunities in the various developmental levels.

In this regard, Al Owais said: “The MoU aims primarily to boost the fields of cooperation between the SCCI and the council for the benefit of the private sector representatives and entrepreneurs to achieve mutual interest in commercial fields and economic cooperation.”

Al Owais further said: “The last three years have witnessed a remarkable growth in the economic cooperation volume between the Emirate of Sharjah and Russia, where Sharjah exports to Russia reached $20 million in the last year only. This motivates the two sides to exert further efforts towards attracting investments, by promoting the existing projects, establishing joint ventures in various fields, reinforcing the relationship in the knowledge field and encouraging the investment in the telecommunications and information technology sectors.”

On another note, Al Owais welcomed the upcoming visit of Russian business delegation to the Emirate of Sharjah next October, adding that the visit is part of a series of the mutual visits between the two sides, to open new channels for developing and reinforcing the relationship between Sharjah and Russia.

For his part, Zagornov Maxim said: “The Emirate of Sharjah is one of the important destinations the Russian Business Council is seeking to penetrate its markets, thanks to the diverse investment opportunity and the encouraging economic and commercial climate.’’

He noted that the MoU would contribute to pushing the relations forward towards new horizons of cooperation between the two sides.

The MoU included cooperation between both sides in promoting the interest of the other party to strengthen and develop trade and economic relations, as well as cooperation between entrepreneurs and businessmen in Sharjah and Moscow and exchange of experiences and information on new trends in economic projects and their mechanisms of management and operation.

In addition to the cooperation in organising exhibitions, seminars, conferences, business meetings, trade mission, and other similar events.