Opportunities for industrial clusters in the UAE will be discussed at the panel session of Delovaya Rossiya at the Russian SME Forum on the zero day of SPIEF-2023

On June 14, 2023, Business Russia will hold a panel session on "Industrial Clusters in the UAE: New Opportunities for Russian Exporters" as part of the Russian Small and Medium Entrepreneurship Forum, which will take place on day zero of the 26th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. The discussion will be moderated by Maxim Zagornov, Business Russia's Business Ambassador to the UAE and Director of the MKS Group of Companies.

In the current realities of external sanctions pressure, new opportunities for the development of Russia's non-resource, non-energy exports are offered by domestic companies locating their production facilities in special economic zones operating in friendly countries, which have the necessary infrastructure and provide residents with a certain set of preferences. In this sense, the most interesting are the proposals of the UAE's largest free economic zones specializing in supporting companies in the manufacturing sector, such as KEZAD, RAKEZ, Masdar City, SAIF ZONE and others.

It is important to take into account that the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade has also developed mechanisms to support localization of domestic companies in friendly countries, providing opportunities for preferential financing of projects aimed at supporting production in foreign countries, subsidizing the costs of purchase and delivery of products, rent of production and storage facilities.

How can Russian business create new production facilities in the UAE? What are the barriers and how can they be overcome? What additional preferences are the UAE free economic zones prepared to offer to Russian residents? It is not difficult to enter a free economic zone, but what are the next steps for Russian business in the Emirati market? Why do Russian clusters form even inside free economic zones and why is it important to "stick together"? These and other questions will be answered by the participants of the panel session "Industrial Clusters in the UAE: New Opportunities for Russian Exporters".

The event is expected to be attended by representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the State Development Corporation "VEB.RF", the Russian Export Center, Russian business, the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates in Russia, as well as a number of leading free economic zones of the UAE. The session will be moderated by Maxim Zagornov, Business Ambassador of Business Russia in the UAE and Director of the MKS Group of Companies.

The event will take place on June 14 in St. Petersburg, at the Expoforum Exhibition and Convention Center, Conference Hall D1 (Zone D), 64 Peterburgskoye Highway, page 1. Start - at 11:15, welcome reception - at 10:40. Simultaneous Russian-English and Russian-Arabic translation will be provided.

In-person participation in the panel session is only possible if you have accreditation for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2023. A live broadcast of the panel session of Business Russia will also be organized on the SPIEF-2023 website - https://forumspb.com/?lang=ru.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is one of the largest business events in Russia. During its existence, the Forum has gained the status of a leading international platform for discussing key issues of the global economy and sharing best global practices and competencies to ensure sustainable development.

This year the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held from June 14 to 17, 2023 in St. Petersburg. The United Arab Emirates will be the guest country of SPIEF-2023.

Operational coverage of the event will be provided on the Telegram channel of Maxim Zagornov, Business Russia's business ambassador to the UAE - Russia-UAE Trade House.