Alexei Mordashov’s Participation in Russian Business Week

Alexei Mordashov, General Director of OAO Severstal, one of the world’s leading vertically integrated steel and mining majors and Chairman of the Committee for Integration, Trade and Customs Policies and WTO in the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE), gave a speech about the role of trade in driving economic growth and the adaptation of Russian industries to the terms of WTO membership. He was speaking to delegates at a conference organized as part of the annual Russian Business week.

The RUIE-promoted Russian Business Week (RBW) is one of the key events where proposals on cooperation between the state and business are discussed and formulated. At RBW this year the preliminary recommendations of the Business 20 (B20), whose activities are coordinated by the RUIE, were presented to G20 representatives.

Alexei Mordashov spoke at the “Trade as a Driver of Economic Growth and Adaptation of Russian Industries to the WTO Conditions” conference, held on the opening day of RBW at the RUIE headquarters.

The conference was also attended by RUIE President, Alexander Shokhin; Director of the Trade Negotiations Department of the RF Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Maxim Medvedkov; Deputy Director of Economic Development at the RF Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, Alexander Maslennikov; representatives of Federal executive bodies, international organizations, and various companies. Special guests included the Australian Ambassador to the RF, Paul Myler, and Australian G20 sherpa, Robert Milliner (note: Australia will take over B20 chairmanship from Russia next year).

Declaring the conference open, Alexander Shokhin emphasized how dialogue between business was critical to trade and explained other areas identified as high priority during the Russian chairmanship of the G20. He also highlighted the key role of this dialogue in protecting the interests of Russian business and maintaining global competitiveness. Recommendations will first be presented to RF President, Vladimir Putin, and then to G20 global leaders.

“Membership of the WTO demands us make Russian industries more competitive. By working together with businesses and government we are confident that we can lay the foundations for the speedy adaptation of Russian industries to WTO standards,” said Alexei Mordashov.

Stressing the importance of bringing Russian industries in line with WTO regulations, Mr Mordashov said that a number of special bodies responsible for implementing adaptation policy needed to be created. He added that it was essential that all workers across the supply chain were kept updated about changes to WTO rules and that workers received proper training to conform to the new standards, as well as calling for government departments to be given further powers to aid export-oriented companies in their work on global markets.

In his report, Mr Mordashov also focused on the work of the WTO. He highlighted fighting protectionism, streamlining trade procedures and creating a consistent and coherent policy to balance between individual and multilateral trade agreements as significant challenges in world trade.