Plenary session of the International Congress «Transformation of value chains: new opportunities and prospects» was held in Bashkortostan
On May 26, in Ufa in the Republic of Bashkortostan, a Plenary Session of the International Scientific and Practical Congress «Cooperation of enterprises in new economic realities» was held on the topic «Transformation of value chains: new opportunities and prospects». The event was organized by the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan together with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and The Association of Clusters, Technology Parks and SEZ of Russia.
«Starting from the 1990s, the share of Russian industrial enterprises in the added value of final products has been consistently decreasing. As a result, Russia has occupied the niche of a "raw material producer" in global production chains by multiplying the import of final industrial products, - Director of ACTP RF Andrey Shpilenko said. – Since the beginning of the 2000s, and especially after 2014, we have seen a reverse trend, but until now – until 2022 – many industries relied on the supply of raw materials, components, equipment and parts from unfriendly countries. Today, due to unprecedented sanctions pressure, in fact, a full-fledged economic war against Russia, we have to urgently rebuild. A lot has already been done, but a number of issues are still waiting to be resolved and optimal approaches developed. For example, where it is necessary to set up completely own production, and where to replace missing links in value chains with products from friendly countries, whether it is worth creating special conditions and preferences to attract foreign investors or give additional privileges to residents of the Russian Federation, and so on. These are the topics that have become the main ones in the course of today's discussion».
The Plenary Session was attended by Head of the Republic of Bashkortostan Radiy Khabirov, Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan Andrey Nazarov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade Alexander Kozlovsky, Director of The Association of Clusters, Technology Parks and SEZ of Russia Andrey Shpilenko, representatives of the expert community and business.
The head of the Republic of Bashkortostan addressed the participants of the event with an opening speech: «I welcome delegations from more than 40 regions of Russia, foreign guests from Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan – all our partners and good friends. We clearly understand how important cooperation is, especially in the field of industry. Cooperation within Russia and with those countries that want to work with us. Believe me, there are a lot of such countries. This is evidenced by the fact that representatives of a number of large foreign companies are present here today. I thank Andrey Viktorovich Shpilenko for the energy with which he led us into the new terra incognita. Cluster policy was a little-known topic for us. But with his tireless support, we have actively entered this area».
Further on, the head of Bashkortostan spoke about the measures to support the economy, which were taken in the Republic. «The main thing is that we were able to create an atmosphere of trust. Enterprises understand that they can receive state support and we are always ready to give them a shoulder. The help toolkit is quite large. These are preferences of the Alga Special Economic Zone and territories of advanced socio-economic development, support of investors in the format of regular Invest Hours, the work of municipal business sheriffs, – Radiy Khabirov emphasized. – I am sure that thanks to these steps we will survive in difficult conditions».
Minister of Industry and Trade of Russia Denis Manturov sent a greeting to the forum participants. «The Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia pays special attention to the development of cooperation ties, implementing system-wide and industry-wide measures of state support, as well as mechanisms to stimulate regional projects in the industry, – said Denis Manturov. – At the end of 2020, Bashkortostan took first place in the rating of the effectiveness of the implementation of industrial policy. Participation in the congress will allow us to study the investment potential of the republic and get acquainted with the effective current practices of industrial development in the region».
During the Plenary Session, Director of ACTP RF Andrey Shpilenko spoke about the successful experience of Bashkortostan in attracting investors for the implementation of large investment projects. «Today, preliminary agreements have been reached between the Republic of Bashkortostan and a major investor from India on the implementation of a huge investment project in the region: and this is in the context of anti-Russian sanctions and pressure on India from the United States so that they do not work with the Russian Federation. This became possible thanks to the use of the cluster mechanism to identify investment niches in which sales outlets are guaranteed. There are no secrets - you have to roll up your sleeves. Today it is necessary to intensify work to identify the needs of domestic enterprises, their consolidation and the search for investors to replace them. The experience of the Republic of Bashkortostan will definitely be useful here both at the federal and regional levels», – concluded Andrey Shpilenko.
Alexander Kozlovsky, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Industry and Trade, drew attention to the fact that recently the internal situation in Russian production has changed quite a lot: today large foreign companies that produced very important products for domestic consumers are leaving the domestic market, but this, at the same time, opens up opportunities for Russian manufacturers.
Andrey Nazarov, Prime Minister of the Government of Bashkortostan, spoke about regional measures to support the economy. «We were among the first in the country to adopt a plan of priority measures to ensure the sustainable development of the economy in the face of external sanctions pressure. When it was formed, the federal experience of anti-crisis measures was taken into account. Conducted consultations with business associations, banking structures and key enterprises. In addition, we analyzed regional and world practice. Our anti-crisis plan comprehensively complements the federal measures and includes about 140 measures totaling 54 billion rubles, – Andrey Nazarov said. – We are confidently developing industrial and technology parks, five areas of advanced socio-economic development. Based on the results of 2021, our special economic zone "Alga" was recognized as the most dynamically developing SEZ in the country. We undertook the implementation of the interregional complex investment project "Eurasian Economic Center". Its essence is to create a preferential field for projects that combine the production, investment, export specializations of several regions, as well as their competitive advantages».
Junaid Iqbal Khan, Director General of Flex Films Rus LLC, in his speech highly appreciated the work of the Bashkortostan leadership in attracting investments. «Investors are strongly supported in the republic. This is the perfect place to do business, – said the entrepreneur from India. – Today, the authorities in Russia and its regions are demonstrating new opportunities to attract foreign investors, creating a favorable climate for business».