On March 2, The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation held a meeting of the President of the CCI of Russia Sergey Katyrin with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (IRA) Said Tayeb Jawad.
The event was also attended by the Vice-president of the CCI of Russia Vladimir Padalko, Director of the Center for Public Relations and Media of the CCI of Russia, the Special Representative of the President of the CCI of Russia for Afghanistan Alexander Shkirando, Chairman of the Business Council for cooperation with Afghanistan, Senior Vice-president of the Resource Group of Companies Dmitry Antonov, Executive Director of the Business Council for cooperation with Afghanistan, Export Sales Deputy Director of the Resource Group of Companies Rinat Shigapov and others.
Sergey Katyrin noted that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia traditionally maintains good relations with the Afghan Embassy, actively supporting the economic cooperation of businessmen. The main issues on the Russian-Afghan agenda are: possible investments, development of existing projects and assessment of the business environment.
According to Dmitry Antonov, although trade relations between the two countries leave much to be desired, there is a great untapped potential for cooperation in the field of railway transport and agriculture. The Chairman of the Business Council for Cooperation with Afghanistan reported on the latest achievements in the sphere of Russian-Afghan trade and pinned his hopes on its further development.
Ambassador Said Tayeb Javad, supported the initiative to strengthen ties in the field of agribusiness. In turn, he expressed concern about the high transportation costs faced by companies. Shipping costs are also a key factor when exporting Russian oil products to Afghanistan.
The participants also discussed the prospects of hosting exhibitions and investor roadshows.
By CCI of Russia news reports
