Breakfast “International trends in foreign direct investment: the role of Russia and the countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)”

Organizer: Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation

Venue: the city of Kazan, IEC KAZAN EXPO, Hall 5.

Time: May 18, 9:00–11:00.

Moderator:

Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM).

Speakers:

Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan, Chairman of the “Russia-Islamic World” Strategic Vision Group;

Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade.

Business breakfast was held within the scope of the International Economic Forum “Russia - Islamic World: KazanForum” dedicated to the latest developments in the field of foreign direct investment between the Arab States, Russia and the CIS, as well as accelerating the achievement of sustainable investments. The event was moderated by Dawood Al Shezawi, President of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM).

Rustam Minnikhanov, Rais of the Republic of Tatarstan addressed the guests with a welcoming speech. In his speech, Rustam Nurgalievich emphasized, that the UAE is a special state, the one which is a sort of a “testing ground” where you can learn a lot: creating infrastructure, finding answers to interesting questions regarding investment. Rais RT also thanked the Minister of Foreign Trade of the UAE Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi and all colleagues from the UAE for their support and assistance. “We learn a lot from our partners from the United Arab Emirates, especially in the field of attracting investments, developing Islamic banking, and the halal industry. Good relations have been established on all issues”, he stressed.

In turn, Thani Ahmed Al Zeyoudi emphasized that Russia and, in particular, Tatarstan are one of the key partners of the UAE. “This is my third visit to the Republic of Tatarstan, and I see how the region is successfully developing,” he acknowledged. The Minister expressed gratitude for the support which KazanForum provides within the scope of the countries’ cooperation, emphasizing the great potential of such events which foster foreign direct investment.

It is worth to mention that the format, originally announced as a panel discussion, was changed to a breakfast format as a more informal one, where the moderator walked around the room, randomly selecting participants and offering cards with a “task” or a question. The participants of the event shared their investment experience, answering questions such as “Could you, please, present ideas or initiatives able of attracting investment?”, “What opportunities for attracting investors are there in your country?”, “What non-standard approaches to attract investment in your country could you indicate?”, and many others.

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry of Qatar Sultan Bin Rashid Al-Khater told how the country managed to achieve a high level of attracted investments, and also noted that the leadership of Russia and Qatar made great efforts to successfully develop cooperation between our countries. He stressed that regular meetings at such large venues as KazanForum contribute to closer and more comprehensive interaction in various fields.

Taliya Minullina, the Head of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, answering the question about the opportunities to attract investors existing in Russia, emphasized that the Russian market is huge, and laws are being developed at the state level to protect the rights of investors, in particular, laws on long-term investments and partnership with foreign entrepreneurs. Apart from all, very strict standards of activity are set for investment agencies in Russia.

There were the guests who received a card with a special note, “Gift from the Republic of Tatarstan”, or just with a nice bonus.