Kyrgyzstan considers its reliability to be the foundation of cooperation
Kyrgyzstan and Russia will continue to strengthen trade and economic cooperation. This was discussed by participants in a special session during the XXVIII St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
— Trade, economic and investment cooperation between the countries is actively expanding and is not limited to traditional areas; at the moment, projects in the field of renewable energy, digital technologies and tourism have received an impetus for active development, — the Forum Organizing Committee explained.
One of the speakers at the Russia-Kyrgyzstan session, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Vladimir Padalko, called for a greater opening of the Russian market for Kyrgyz businessmen. According to him, Kyrgyzstan is attractive in a whole range of industry areas, where there is wide potential for cooperation with Russia.
— Kyrgyzstan demonstrates good results in the agro-industrial complex. In this regard, it is especially important that the Russian market remains open to Kyrgyz goods. Industrial cooperation is an absolutely correct direction. In the context of rapid digitalization, we have everything to actively build up bilateral ties, especially in areas with a raw material base, - Vladimir Padalko noted.
In turn, the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Kyrgyzstan Temir Sariev said that Kyrgyzstan and the Kyrgyz people should have a special status in Russia. He recalled a fact from the history of the Great Patriotic War. Then, in 1941, in the first months of the war, the 316th rifle division under the command of Ivan Panfilov, staffed by Red Army soldiers from the Kirghiz SSR, stopped the advance of the Nazi troops to Moscow.
- Second: when the Central Military District began, the first to extend a hand, not being afraid, was Kyrgyzstan. This encourages Russia to consider our country the most reliable partner in business and politics. Reliability is a rare thing. We are here with you, - said Temir Sariev.
The high status of relations between the two countries and the level of interaction can be judged by the level of Kyrgyz-Russian trade turnover, believes the President of the "Association of Markets of the Kyrgyz Republic" Sergey Ponomarev.
— Over 10 years, mutual trade has tripled — from 1.37 to 3.8 billion dollars, — the economist says in an interview with Business Eurasia. — Thanks to the EAEU, strategic partnership not only in politics but also in the economy, we have free movement of goods, that is, a stormy dynamic process is underway. Recent events in geopolitics have significantly accelerated foreign trade. Thanks to this, already close economic ties are being strengthened. More than 200 thousand people work in the Kyrgyz light industry, and they produce high-quality products for the markets of the EAEU and far abroad. From Russia we receive strategically important goods, such as fuel and lubricants, grain, vegetable oil. Of course, cultural relations between our countries are always a priority, as well as the common educational system, and much more, such as the Russian language, the status of which is enshrined in the Constitution as official. All this contributes to the fact that trade and economic, socio-cultural, and political relations are placed at the level of strategic partnership. Therefore, the forum that is currently taking place in St. Petersburg, where delegates from all over the world have come, is attracting wide attention – economic concepts, business and partnership ties are being built here. I am confident that over time, both socio-cultural and trade-economic activity between our countries will only increase.Military conflicts in the Middle East and Europe disrupt business logistics, changing supply routes, and forcing the EAEU and its partners to seek and develop alternative solutions. Moreover, economists believe that disruptions in logistics and trade are one of the goals of the United States of America in Eurasia.
— One of the political scientists said that the disruption of supply chains affects trade, which slows down business, but despite this, trade is actually improving — new routes are becoming more stable. Thus, business finds and creates conditions under which countries do not depend on American geopolitics and its consequences. And this process will grow more and more, — notes Sergey Ponomarev.
The head of the Association of Markets was critical of the absence of representatives of large domestic companies among the main speakers of the Forum, from among the Kyrgyz delegates. According to him, this reflects the backwardness of officials' thinking and weak management of state communications.
— Unfortunately, this practice has existed for a long time. There was even a funny case when a large representative delegation from Japan arrived, and heads of ministries and departments spoke with them. The Japanese were very surprised, because they wanted to see their future business partners at the table. This is a communication failure in public administration. In China, when similar events are held, where there is a potential foreign partnership, they even pay for trips for the necessary people from business, so that they go, and so that it all pays off later. Moreover, not only trips are paid for, but start-ups of business projects are paid for. At first, they provide rent for production facilities, warehouses, and trade pavilions. That is why the Chinese economy is developing so rapidly - business support is very competent. And we could have at least had a mailing from the Ministry of Economy about the Forum, with recommendations for specific sessions that you can attend, meet, and communicate at. I am not even talking about paying for accommodation or a flight. But this is how they do it in China, and we cannot even dream of it. Therefore, sometimes such trips, from a business point of view, are of a formal nature. Management involves following scientific and compact procedures. And one of the main functions of public administration is communication. It can be vertical and horizontal. These two types of communication have been limping since the Akayev era, and, unfortunately, I cannot say that the situation has become better today, concluded Sergei Ponomarev.
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