27/11/2008

PERM DAY IN BRUSSELS (Presentation of Perm Krai)


In the evening of November 27, 2008, in the spacious house of the Russian Ambassador in Belgium it became clear that the presentation of Perm Krai, which had been conceived in the spring this year, had been a success above expectation. However, a few weeks before this had seemed doubtful. Too many obstacles had arisen before the realization of the idea to hold a “Perm Day in Brussels”, and those had nothing to do with organizational difficulties. It is enough to mention two events that had occurred prior to this day: the armed conflict in the Caucasus, which was accompanied by appeals to «isolate Russia», and the global financial and economic crisis.

But it is these two events, as well as the EU-Russia summit that had taken place in Nice the day before, that produced the reverse effect: the presentation of Perm Krai, one of the leading regions of Russia, evoked a really great interest in the EU capital. Just one example: the organizers expected that the 11-o’clock plenary meeting in Bristol Brussels would be attended by 60—70 guests, as this was the number of invited guests who had confirmed their attendance. The conference room itself could seat 80 visitors. But by 10.30 it had become clear that the attendance was going to be a lot higher than that. The organizers had to carry in additional chairs and headgears for simultaneous translation, while ambassadors, MPs, businesspeople and journalists were patiently queuing for registration. It soon turned out that the plenary meeting alone was attended by more than 140 people!
At such events people usually start getting up and leaving after an hour or two. But during Perm Day it was different. Not only did the guests stay to work in sections after lunch (there were three ‘round table’ discussions), but they were also joined by new participants.
Sure enough, the attention of the guests was drawn to the presentation by the Governor of Perm Krai Oleg CHIRKUNOV. He began with an honest confession: the Ural Mountains have not been spared by the global crisis. But what does this imply? Mr Chirkunov believes that «during the period of economic upturn one must think of the possible crisis, while during the crisis one should prepare for the new upturn”. This idea may seem paradoxical, but it fully corresponds to the cyclic nature of economic crises. As for Perm Krai, this is not only one of the most highly developed regions of the country (one of the top ten out of 85 regions) and not only the place where Europe begins. As Oleg CHIRKUNOV remarked, “People in Perm are not only the first to see the sun, they are also the first to start work».
This idea was further developed by the other speakers. For instance, the Russian Ambassador in Belgium Vadim LUKOV quoted some figures proving that Perm Krai plays an important role not only in the Russian but also in the global economy. Mr Cautreels, President of Belgian and Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce, reminded the guests that SOLVAY  S. A. (whose board he serves on) has been cooperating with Perm Krai for 125 years. On the same day Governor CHIRKUNOV signed an agreement of further cooperation with SOLVAY  S. A. Another partner agreement was signed a little earlier by Perm Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Belgian-Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce for Russia and Belarus.
A. LEIFRED, Head of LUKOIL Perm Group, told the guests that the diesel fuel they buy in Belgium, Luxemburg and some other countries is made from Perm oil by a Perm refinery. Incidentally, that afternoon, after the reception on behalf of the European Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, the guests of the presentation had an opportunity to see that for themselves at one of Brussels’ LUKOIL petrol stations.
Opportunities for cooperation in the intellectual sphere were the subject of speeches delivered by Rector of Urals’ oldest university Vladimir MALANIN and Head of the International PROGNOZ Group Dmitry ANDRIANOV. Immediately after the plenary meetings the guests had a chance to visit PROGNOZ Brussels office. There they learned that PROGNOZ is one of the world’s leading companies in the sphere of monitoring, analyzing and forecasting complex economic processes. PROGNOZ has been successfully operating in Russia for quite a long time and has offices in the USA, China and Ukraine. At present, the company is considering opening offices in the Middle East and Latin America.
Commenting on the Brussels meeting, one of the main organizers of the presentation and the moderator of the plenary meeting Andrey KLIMOV said that this is exactly the way international contacts should be developing and strengthening on the regional level. “It is impossible to address all issues only at summits, through diplomats or inter-parliamentary dialogue«, Mr KLIMOV says. It is important to provide opportunities for specialists to meet on all possible levels. Business people and experts can understand and help each other more quickly if they have a chance to speak to each other directly. Mr KLIMOV knows what he is speaking about, as he is Head of the Russian Parliamentary Group for Cooperation with Benelux countries, Vice Chairman of the Committee for International Affairs of the Russian Parliament and Co-Chairman of the Committee for Russia-EU Inter-Parliamentary Cooperation.
In conclusion it is necessary to pay tribute to those who helped organizing this meeting. Apart from Perm Krai Administration, Russian and Belgian Embassies, Benelux Parliamentary group and Belgian-Luxemburg Chamber of Commerce, special mention must be made of two more organizations: Intersectoral Institute for Regional Research and PIT Fund. It is these two organizations that did not only succeed in coordinating all the long-term work and help providing the content of the presentation, but also managed to raise the necessary funds to hold the presentation. To the question whether these two organizations can be approached to help organizing similar presentations for other Russian regions, PIT Fund’s director Lyudmila LYUTIKOVA said yes. She emphasized, however, that such presentations take at least half a year of hard preparatory work.

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