The Russian-British Business Forum V Digital
Industries and Infrastructure, the largest Russian business event abroad, has
concluded in London. This year, the Forum was attended by over 1,000 people, while more than 50
representatives of government and senior management from business spoke at the
discussions and roundtables. Trade between Russia and the United Kingdom
continued to grow in 2019 and could reach USD 15 billion by the end of the
year.
The annual Forum, which is organized under the auspices of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade by the Trade Representation of Russia in the United Kingdom jointly with the Roscongress Foundation, took place for the fifth time in Westminster at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. Per tradition, the participants discussed some of the most pressing trade relations issues during the RBBF discussions and roundtables. This year, numbers in various sectors from banking services to urban studies were a major theme at the Forum events.
According
to data for the first three quarters of 2019, trade between Russia and the
United Kingdom amounted to more than USD 11 billion, up 12.8% from the same
period of last year. Imports from Russia to the UK increased significantly at
around 17.3% to more than USD 8.5 billion. There was also an increase in the
share of non-resource and non-energy exports from Russia to the UK, which grew
by 21.9% compared with 2018 to more than USD 1.8 billion. Trade turnover is
expected to amount to USD 15 billion this year, an increase of at least 10%
from 2018.
«Relations
between the business communities of Russia and the UK continue to evolve, as
evidenced by the increase in the number of participants in the Russian-British
Business Forum held in London compared with last year. We see that both
countries are active in trade, economic, and cultural affairs as part of the
cross-year programme of music of Russia and the UK in 2019. I am certain that
the themes that were raised at this Forum are important to the whole world, so
the results of their discussions will make an important contribution to the
further development of relations between the business communities,» Adviser to
the Russian President Anton Kobyakov said.
Developing
cooperation in digital technologies is one of the two countries top goals in
their collaboration. An example of this was the debut of the Russian artificial
intelligence system Dasha.AI at the Forum, which can perform all the
functions of call centres: from recruiting employees for the company to
processing customer orders. The UK company IXcelerate has announced the
construction of two data centres in Moscow with investments of more than USD
100 million. One of the most notable events at the Forum was the announcement
of the launch of the Russian payment system MIR in the UK and other European
countries through the acquiring of PayXpert.
«In recent
years, we have seen a striking growth trend in Russian non-energy and
non-resource exports and the mutual interest of the two countries in high-tech
products and services. In this economic context, it is essential to create the
best conditions for the further development of Russian-British business
relations, which, despite the political situation, have seen a steady increase
in indicators,» Trade Representative of Russia in the UK Boris Abramov said.
The
agreement signings at the RBBF this year included a cooperation agreement
between the Roscongress Foundation and the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce and an
agreement on exports to the UK between Makfa and the distributor Monolith.
The RBBF V
was attended by Agency for Strategic Initiatives General Director Svetlana
Chupsheva, Russian Deputy Minister of Digital Development, Communications, and
Mass Media Maxim Parshin, Russian Deputy Minister of Economic Development Vadim
Zhivulin, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs Rights Boris
Titov, VimpelCom Executive Vice President Artashes Sivkov, senior executives
from Sberbank Russia, BP, British American Tobacco Plc, JCB, Hydro Industries,
Albert Bartlett, and other companies.