EU-Russia Industrialists' Round Table
London Hilton Metropole, 3 October 2005
In October 2005, the Russian Economic Forum was asked for the first time to coordinate and manage the General Meeting of the EU-Russia Industrialists' Roundtable (IRT).
This year's IRT was the largest ever, with over 600 registered delegates. It was covered by BBC, CNN, Bloomberg and major Russian TV networks, as well as print media in Russia and Europe. It also received considerable exposure at the Summit itself, and was mentioned by Russian President Vladimir Putin in his address.
The General Meeting programme consisted of morning Task Forces on a variety of themes - representing each of the working groups of the IRT - followed by plenary sessions in the afternoon.
Highlights included the signing of a memorandum of understanding between UNICE (Union of Industrial and Entrepreneurial Confederations of Europe) and the Coordinating Council of the Entrepreneurial Unions of Russia (comprising the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, also known as RSPP, the All-Russian Organisation "Delovaya Rossiya," and the Association for Small and Medium Sized Businesses, OPORA). Alexander Shokhin, President of the RSPP, represented the Russian side, and Philippe de Buck, Secretary General of UNICE, was there on behalf of trade organisations from the EU.
The plenaries were co-chaired by Anatoly Chubais, CEO of RAO UES of Russia, and Jukka Härmälä, CEO of Stora Enso. Key speakers included Victor Khristenko, Minister for Energy and Industry of the Russian Federation; Günter Verheugen, Vice President, European Commission; Andris Piebalgs, Energy Commissioner, European Commission; Rt. Hon. Alan Johnson MP, Secretary of State for Trade & Industry, UK; Vladimir Yakunin, President, OAO Russian Railways; Vladimir Yevtushenkov, President, AFK Sistema; Len Blavatnik, Chairman, Access Industries; Jean Lemierre, President, EBRD; Dr. Klaus Mangold, Executive Advisor to the Chairman, DaimlerChrysler; Vladimir Dmitriev, Chairman, Vnesheconombank and Igor Klochko, CEO, Power Machines.
The event culminated with a black tie dinner at the Dorchester Hotel sponsored by Amtel-Vredestein. Guest speakers were Peter Mandelson, Trade Commissioner for the EU, and Victor Vekselberg, Chairman of the Board of Renova Group.
The IRT is a business-driven process, founded and endorsed by the EU-Russia Summit in July 1997. Each year, the Round Table brings together key decision makers from Russia and Europe to discuss a broad range of topics related to core business and industrial sectors.
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