Rustam Minnikhanov: Tatarstan is interested in attracting Swiss business and capital
On March 23, speaking at the Switzerland-Tatarstan business forum, Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, who is on a working visit in Geneva, said that Tatarstan is interested in attracting Swiss business and capital.
Welcoming the participants of the business forum, Minnikhanov thanked the representatives of the business circles for their interest shown to Tatarstan. He noted that Tatarstan delegation includes heads of ministries and departments of the republic, representatives of large enterprises. We expect that during the visit the business circles will open up new areas for cooperation and agree on joint projects, Tatarstan President added.
Minnikhanov noted that this forum is a good platform for discussing the state and prospects for the development of Tatarstan-Switzerland cooperation aimed at strengthening cooperation between Russia and Switzerland.
According to Tatarstan President, the Russian leadership headed by President Vladimir Putin elected last Sunday, looks forward for constructive work with foreign partners. "We must give the right signals to business at the regional level. We hope that this visit will give a new impetus to the development of cooperation between Tatarstan and Swiss companies,” Minnikhanov said.
He added that Tatarstan has considerable experience of cooperation with Switzerland. Many Swiss companies are doing business in the republic. Last year, the trade turnover between Tatarstan and Switzerland increased by 2 per cent to make 121.3 million US dollars.
"We have great potential for the development of trade, economic and investment cooperation. Among the prioritity areas are petrochemical industry, engineering, IT, medicine and pharmaceutics, agriculture, construction, transport, infrastructure projects and other spheres," Tatarstan President continued.
Minnikhanov informed the forum participants about the economic and industrial potential of Tatarstan, and also talked about interaction with foreign investors. In particular, he noted that for the third year in a row Tatarstan has topped the Russian rating of the state of the investment climate.
Minister of Information and Communication of the republic Roman Shaikhutdinov and Head of Tatarstan Investment Development Agency Taliya Minullina told the forum participants in detail about the most promising areas for the development of cooperation between Tatarstan and Switzerland.
At the end of the forum, a cooperation agreement between the Union of Chambers of Commerce of Switzerland-Russia and the CIS countries and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the republic, as well as an agreement of intent between the InnoPark Technopark and the Kazan IT Park were signed in the presence of Rustam Minnikhanov.