Gleb Nikitin: Russia considers the prospect of creating Armenian-Russian joint businesses  in priority sectors of the economy

ArmInfo. Russian side is considering the prospect of creating Armenian-Russian joint ventures in priority sectors of the economy, in particular in the light industry, through the organization of production on the territory of the FEZ in Yerevan and Meghri. Answering the question of ArmInfo, First Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Gleb Nikitin stated on the margins of the regional trade and industrial exhibition forum "ARMENIA EXPO 2017" on September 8 in Yerevan.

According to the Deputy Minister, during the visit of the Russian business mission to Armenia, which started on the eve, traditional directions of cooperation in the field of radio-electronic, aviation industry, agricultural machinery and equipment and agricultural equipment were condemned. For the first time, the textile industry also joined the discussions of industrial projects at the governmental level. "I think that we will reach the second International Forum of the Eurasian Partnership, scheduled October 5-7, 2017 in the capital of Armenia, not only in the traditional sectors, but also in this sector, to sign the corresponding documents on the establishment of joint projects," the first deputy minister said.

Earlier, as Nikitin noted, cooperation in the field of textiles mainly took place in the context, for example, sewing products for the Russian market in Armenia. "Today, we face the challenge of entering the markets of third countries, including taking into account the existence of special preferential agreements with Armenia - GSP and GSP + with a huge number of countries, large markets such as Europe, Canada, the United States," he said. According to the Deputy Minister, in order to ensure access to the markets of third countries, it is necessary to have appropriate links and an understanding of the specifics of these markets.  This, according to the representative of the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, can contribute to the Armenian diaspora, which is very represented in many countries, which is also one of Armenia's competitive advantages for cooperation with Russian business.

According to Nikitin, point of consolidation in the intensification of the negotiation process for the creation of the Armenian-Russian joint venture could be the establishment of a joint organization aimed at supporting business between the Russian Export Center and the Armenian Development Institute.  Armenian colleagues, as the deputy minister said, will have to decide whether it will be SME Investments or another company. I think that this enterprise and the Yerevan Scientific Research Institute of Mathematical Machines JSC, which the Russian side owns, can together give a serious impetus to the development of relevant projects, "Gleb Nikitin said.

To note, trade turnover between Russia and Armenia grew by 6% and reached $ 1.34 billion in 2016.  Russia accounts for about half of all foreign investments in Armenia - about $ 3 billion. About 2,000 enterprises with Russian participation work in Armenia.