Moscow – The CEO of PhosAgro and Chairman of the Russia-Argentina Business Council (“RABC“, the Council”) Andrey Guryev attended a meeting organised by the Ambassador of Argentina to Russia Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio in honor of the Council.
The event was also attended by diplomats from the Embassy of Argentina in Russia, the Executive Vice President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (“RUIE”) Victor Cherepov, the Deputy CEO of PhosAgro for Government Relations Valery Fedorov, as well as representatives of leading Russian companies and banks that are members of the RACE, including RUSAL, Gazprombank, VTB Bank, the Association of Steel Enterprises "Russian Steel" and the St Petersburg Research Institute of Vaccines and Serums.
During the meeting, it was decided to outline the key issues facing the Council in order to arrange subsequent discussions with the Argentine side in the framework of the upcoming visit of RABC leadership and its member companies to Argentina in November 2017.
The agricultural and chemical sectors, as well as machine-building, energy, metallurgy, banking and pharmaceutical industries were identified as the main areas for development of cooperation, and representatives of these sectors provided their proposals regarding the agenda of the forthcoming meeting. In particular, these are issues related to the establishment of a dialogue between Russian and Argentinean metallurgical companies and industry associations on the issues of the global agenda within the framework of the Argentine presidency of the G20 and B20, potential cooperation for the supply to Argentina of automotive and engineering equipment, as well as flu vaccines.
Andrey Guryev, Chairman of the Russia-Argentina Business Council, President of the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers (RAPU) and CEO of PhosAgro expressed gratitude to the Argentine authorities for their constructive dialogue in resolving the issue of canceling the 6% import duty on high-quality diammonium phosphate (DAP) products, noting that such a decision will benefit not only the Russian producers of mineral fertilizers: "This is our common victory. Argentinian farmers will be able to purchase high-quality products that are free from potentially harmful contaminants. At the moment, demand for DAP in Argentina is around 300-350 thousand tonnes, which Russian producers are fully able to supply.
“However, there are a number of other issues that need to be resolved as quickly as possible, including within the framework of business associations of the two countries," added Andrey Guryev.
The Ambassador of Argentina to Russia Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio proposed inviting representatives of the Argentine side of the Business Council to discuss current cooperation issues for the 13th meeting of the Russian-Argentine Intergovernmental Commission for Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, which is scheduled to be held in February 2018 in Moscow.
Following the meeting, Ricardo Ernesto Lagorio said: "I am happy to strengthen the friendship between the Embassy of Argentina and the Russia-Argentina Business Council, which will undoubtedly lead to positive results in various areas of our cooperation."