May 22, 2015  Business Forum EXPO DAY - RANEPA 2015 "Italy-Russia: contemporary challenges in the bilateral relations " was held in the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) as the presentation of the work program of the international exhibition EXPO-2015. The event was organized by RANEPA, MCCI, in cooperation with the National Organizing Committee of EXPO 2015 and the National Agency for Tourism (Italy, ENIT); the event was held under the patronage of the Agency for Foreign Trade of Italy ITA-ICE.

Prof. I. Bartsits, director of IGSU RANEPA, opened the event and stressed out, that cooperation with Italy in the field of education continues to grow, despite the unfavorable economic  situation. Academy "takes every opportunity to keep in touch with Italian universities",  joint educational programs are working, there are  educational exchange  programs. "Historical ties, crossing cultures and the mutual interest of our countries continue to promote the development of cooperation", - he said.

I. Kuzmin, Deputy Head of the Department for external economic and interregional relations of the Moscow Government, in his speech, presented an overview of the development of economic relations between Italy and Moscow. "Italy is one of the crucial trade partners of Moscow. In recent years, Italy  firmly holds the fourth place among the major partners of the capital ", - said I. Kuzmin.

Exports of goods from Moscow to Italy grew by 31% (1.4 billion dollars USA) following the results of 2014 compared to 2013 year. The most important export goods groups are inorganic and  organic chemicals, raw hides and skins, electrical machinery and equipment, as well as cereals. At the same time, imports of goods from Italy in 2014 decreased by 18% (6.1 billion dollars USA)compared to 2013 year. A significant part of trade purchases from Italy are the supply of heavy machinery, pharmaceutical products, ground transportation, electrical machinery and equipment, as well as alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.

"It should be noted that  there are a number of joint projects between Moscow and Italy, and  one of them is  the reconstruction of the Moscow Ring Railway," - said Kuzmin.

In 2014, also were held large-scale joint events: Days of Moscow in Rome and Milan and Days of  Milan in Moscow."Our relations remain quite warm and constructive", - summed I. Kuzmin

Nikola Jovanovic, the first secretary of the Embassy of Italy in Moscow, in his welcoming speech noted that investment and industrial cooperation between the two countries continues to grow. "We see great interest in Russia to Italy and the Italian like  Russia too, - said the speaker. - I wanted to thank you for this event. Italy continues to invest in Russia and strengthens its presence. And we hope that the policy will contribute to this.

"Despite the crisis, we are still here and are looking for new forms of cooperation", - said Mr. Jovanovic, and noted the importance of events such as the Business Forum.

Dr. P. Celeste, the Head of the Moscow office of ITA-ICE, gave examples of active cooperation between Russia and Italy (Finmeccanica, the bank Unicredit, Pizzarotti and others). ITA-ICE invited nearly 100 Russian companies to participate in the EXPO, the companies that have advanced technology in agricultural production. According to Dr. Celeste, Italian companies currently differ 4 priority areas of cooperation with the Russian market: the infrastructure,  the technology,  the agriculture and the creation of machinery and equipment.

"It is not true that the crisis leads to distrust," - said the speaker.

S. Vardanyan, Vice President of MCCI, in his speech drew the attention of visitors that Moscow appreciates the presence of Italian companies. He stressed out that Moscow is already the complete  high-tech platform for organizations of any business. There is the necessary infrastructure in Moscow:  teсhnoparks, industrial parks and special economic zones, which are ready to take the Italian partners. "We have been focused on cooperation with Italy. We believe that the mentality of Italy  is close to Russia, and today our country is taking new steps to involve  new participants to the market ", - said the vice president of the MCCI.

The moderator of the Business Forum  K. Krokhin, the Chairman of the Commission on foreign economic cooperation with its partners in the Italian Republic o MCCI, indicated the presence of extensive opportunities for the development of bilateral cooperation in the field of import substitution and localization of production. Mr. Krokhin  noted the uniqueness of the situation when for Italy, which has important competences in technology, a  huge Russian domestic market  was  opened. This market  was opened  not only in terms of consumer goods, but to a greater extent in the industrial and technological sphere, as the industry of Russia objectively needs upgrading. K. Krokhin also said, that during the World EXPO in Italy visa regime is very loyal, so all concerned can take the opportunity to visit the exhibition.

The speech of the architect Michele Mole, the author of the Italian Pavilion at EXPO 2015 and the  director of the bureau NEMESI & Partners, was greeted with huge interest. He presented the pavilion of Italy and said about the history and characteristics of the building: the Italian Pavilion has a complex geometric shape, for a person who is in, it becomes a mystery. In every corner of the pavilion there is a new perspective that visitors do not expect to see.

The building is not only consumed the energy but also produced it: the roof is equipped with solar panels for this. Moreover, the design of the roof is special: it collected water in a special container, water is poured into the tank and is used for maintenance of the building. "Beauty can be the engine of the economics", - said the architect.

A new material that is exposed to sunlight and could absorb dust and smog and turns them into a salt, was created especially  for the building. It makes the surface of the building white. In large cities, dust could contaminate a building, but in this case the surface of the building is cleared of smog by itself.

"Used in the construction of the pavilion the  know-how technologies confirm that Italy has to offer something new to the world, and capable of creating unique technologies", - said Michele Mole.

Michele Mole also stressed  out that in terms of design and architectural solutions, the second one most interesting pavilion is  the pavilion of  Russia.

Anton Atrashkin,  the  President of  Eventica communications, told more details about the Russian pavilion at the EXPO, which combined the traditions of the Soviet and modern Russian architecture. Russian pavilion is very popular among visitors because of the unusual visor mirror surface and regularly conducted tastings, presentations and events. June 2, 2015 in the Russian pavilion will open the largest World Agro Forum.

In September 2015 there’ll be an  official visit to Milan of the delegation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Russian Cultural Week, dedicated to the anniversary of P.I. Tchaikovsky,  Russian figure skaters performances, Russian Film Festival and other events.

As  the part of the Business Forum representatives of the companies Alitalia, Ferrero, Italian-Russian company "Lapastafreska», UBI Bank, and other companies that do business in Russia made their presentations. The representative of the Moscow State University of Design and Technology made a very informative presentation on their work with Italian counterparts.

All participants agreed that the economic, cultural, technological and educational cooperation between Italy and Russia will actively continue and EXPO will give new impetus to these relations.

 

Media about the event:

http://dvms.mos.ru/presscenter/news/detail/1890220.html

http://www.mostpp.ru/media-center/News/2015/May/EXPO-Milan-May2015

http://www.ranepa.ru/news/item/7637-forum-italia.html