Businesses from 70 countries interested in working with Russia

The fifth international industrial exhibition, Innoprom-2014, has closed in Yekaterinburg on Saturday.
The exhibition featured participants from 70 countries, head of the event’s business programme Anton Atrashkin said adding all business counterparts had confirmed they wanted to work with Russia.
“The exhibition and the business programme have attracted about 600 companies from 70 countries. The biggest delegations came from China, Japan, Germany, Thailand, Latin American countries, and Arab countries,” he said. “We can announce proudly that the sanctions and the political situation have not affected the event and Russia’s all business counterparts have confirmed they wanted to work with this country.”
Even delegations from the U.S. and Canada came to Yekaterinburg, the organiser said.
“Even the countries, which, so to say, are in the avant-garde of the sanctions, did come to Innoprom - the delegations came and participated in the business events.”
The fifth Innoprom exhibition has become a key platform for the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to offer decisions in industrial policies; it has attracted a record-high number of foreign delegations, companies, having confirmed that economic interests are what matters for the international businesses.
“The international business wants and wishes to work in Russia,” the official said. “The level of top managers this year was unprecedented.”
The Innoprom exhibition “has become more expressive,” as the participating companies presented machinery, robots, “the most advanced innovative products,” thus the “objectives we had were even over-fulfilled.”
A key event of the programme was a plenary session called Industry in Search for Intellect: Global Trends and Russian Specifics, which featured Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Minister of Industry and Trade Denis Manturov and top managers of major Russian and foreign companies. After the session, Medvedev presented the first Industry Prize to the Biocard Company, working in biotechnologies. The prime minister also started a heat electric power station and studied several innovative works by Russian and foreign companies, including Russian robots and the first innovative passenger tram made at Uralvagonzavod and a super-modern laser nano microscope.
During the event’s business programme, experts discussed development of computer engineering, less dependence on import and development of home production, logistics, export, intellectual capital in Russia. The exhibition participants signed several big agreements, including those between Russian companies and Renault, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Environmental & Chemical Engineering Co. Ltd, PESA and others.
Itar-Tass was the general information sponsor of the event.