About 20 Turkish companies will take part in the regional Russian-Turkish business forum, which opened in Voronezh today.
The event is held by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, the Russian Trade Mission in Istanbul, the Russian-Turkish Business Council, the Foreign Economic Relations Council of Turkey with the support of the Voronezh Region government.
The forum will be attended by the governor of the Voronezh Region Alexei Gordeev, Turkey's Ambassador to Russia Huseyin Dirioz, Russia's Deputy Minister of Energy Anatoly Yanovskiy, Vice-President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vladimir Padalko, Chairman of the Russian-Turkish Business Council Akhmet Palankoev, Chairman of the Turkish-Russian Business Council Tuncay Özilhan, Head of the Russian-Turkish Business Association Naki Karaaslan and others.
The deputy governor of the Voronezh region, Andrei Revkov, noted that the forum's goal is to establish and develop economic ties between the companies of the two countries in various economic sectors, as well as to implement joint investment projects.
The forum's program includes thematic round tables on the current directions of the Russian-Turkish trade and economic cooperation, the exchange of business contacts in such areas as construction, financial sector, industry, energy, chemical industry, agriculture, transport and tourism, education and health.
The Turkish delegation includes representatives of the construction industry, agriculture, light industry, engineering and metalworking, chemical industry, credit and finance sphere, pharmaceuticals, retail and tourism.
The work of the forum will continue tomorrow, November 30.
The director of the Center for Modern Turkish Studies, Amur Hajiyev, speaking with Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that now Russia and Turkey have a very wide range of directions for strengthening business contacts. "First, it is possible to effectively develop cooperation ties in the defense industry. Turkey is interested in Russian high-tech products, including the S-400 air defense systems. In addition, joint projects in the field of helicopter construction and equipping combat aircraft and dual-capable aircraft are possible," he drew attention.
Turkey is also interested in joint space projects and production in third countries. "The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars route can be further developed to organize regular transport links to Russia. Certain energy projects are possible on a joint basis in third countries, including in Syria or Iraq. Joint ventures are also feasible in Central Asian countries, for example, textile enterprises in Uzbekistan," Amur Hajiyev said.
One should not forget about the prospects of current energy projects. "As you know, the Akkuyu atomic power station is being built in Turkey," the director of the Center for Modern Turkish Studies added.
At the same time, the expert stressed that the normalization of economic relations between the two countries has been completed - the contacts have returned to the pre-crisis level. "There are problems left only with the visa regime and the resumption of the full supply of tomatoes. Now only a few companies have the right to import their products to Russia in limited quantities. On the other hand, it is necessary for Turkey to facilitate the delivery of Russian beef. Speaking about the visa regime, then perhaps by the end of this year there will be certain relief for a particular group of citizens," Amur Hajiyev concluded.
