Russia Investment Roadshow debuts in the UAE
This November, Dubai will play host to the largest ever Russian business conference in the history of the UAE. The Russia Investment Roadshow, organised by Eventica in cooperation with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, will bring together over 500 industry CEOs and CFOs, bankers, investors, government figures, journalists and other opinion formers from the Russian Federation, the Gulf and all around the world.
The Roadshow will have something to offer for anyone in the GCC with an interest in doing business with Russia. It will be a showcase of investment opportunities that the country has to offer, but it will also help companies from Dubai and all around the Gulf to learn about the general business climate in Russia, find trading partners, discuss joint development projects and even seek investment from Russia.
The confirmed key participant list already includes HE Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates; Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman, Dubai World; Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs; Vladimir Yakunin, President, Russian Railways; Jamal Majid Bin Thaniah, Vice Chairman, DP World; Salma Ali Saif Saeed Bin Hareb, CEO, Economic Zones World; Andrey Nedosekov, Deputy Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation; HH Sheikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qassimi, Chairman, RAK Free Zone; Konstantin Korishchenko, Chairman of the Board, MICEX Group (including Moscow Stock Exchange); Alexander Izosimov, CEO, VimpelCom; Valery Okulov, CEO, Aeroflot; Yuri Soloviev, CEO, VTB Capital and Head of Investment Business, VTB Group; HE Salah Salem Bin Omair Al Shamsi, Chairman, Federation of UAE Chambers of Commerce; Shiv Khemka, Vice Chairman, SUN Group; Boris Aleshin, President, Avtovaz
Group; Svetlana Orlova, Deputy Speaker, Federation Council of the Russian Federation; Mohammed Al-Shroogi, Managing Director, Citigroup Middle East.
Sergei Kolushev, Chairman of the Russia Investment Roadshow commented: "Over the last decade, the United Arab Emirates and Russia have forged even stronger commercial links, and today the UAE is one of Russia's biggest trading partners in the Gulf region. With a bilateral relationship which has evolved from trade and tourism to deeper commercial investment, the importance of the links that tie the two countries were highlighted in Autumn 2007 with President Putin's visit to the United Arab Emirates, where he was greeted by HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahayan, President of the UAE. We are delighted to be able to bring the Russia Investment Roadshow to the UAE for the first time. The senior level of our participants from Russia, the UAE and the wider investment community is evidence of the importance of Russian-Gulf commercial links"
The Russia Investment Roadshow in Dubai will take the form of an intensive and interactive conference on 10-11 November, 2008 at The Atlantis, The Palm Jumeirah. The main conference will take place alongside a wider programme of social networking events, including the Russian Rhapsody gala dinner to be held at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on 9 November and a special polo match on 10 November between the Moscow Polo Club and the famed Habtoor Polo Team, which has its home in Dubai.
Kolushev added: "Russia is changing and the world is changing. Russian companies want to expand globally and are looking for different markets, which is why we have come up with a new concept that takes the roadshow-style event of key global investment hubs, the first being in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates is an international gateway and for us it is a priority to attract countries in the Middle East and Africa as well as the Indian Subcontinent to the conference. The Dubai municipality and the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry have both given their full support to the initiative and the feedback we've been getting from key officials and captains of industry has been very encouraging." Chamber of Commerce & Industry Ruwaad Holdings, Citigroup, Uralsib Capital, RAK Free Trade Zone and Multibroker. Media Partners are Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Kommersant, Vesti TV, Finance Magazine and Russia Today.
Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists & Entrepreneurs, said: "The Russia Investment Roadshow will be a powerful platform for companies and investors from Russia and the GCC to consolidate partnerships and build closer ties. There is huge potential for this bi-lateral relationship to grow rapidly to the advantage of both sides."
Sponsors and corporate partners of the Roadshow include Russian Railways,
