The Ukrainian-Russian Economic Forum "Kharkov 2001" is a forum of business circles of Ukraine and the Russian Federation , which took place on December 13-14, 2001 in Kharkov . The forum was attended by President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin and more than 1,500 representatives of large and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine and Russia. The organizer and chairman of the forum is the governor of the Kharkiv region, Yevgeny Kushnaryov .
Following the forum, a number of business agreements were signed between representatives of both countries. The forum was the first event on a global scale of interaction between the business elites of the two countries in the post-Soviet period.
Content
History
Conduct
According to media reports, the economic forum in Kharkov long before its inception received a sign of a historical event [1] and caused a stir long before it took place [2] . The main impetus for holding this forum is considered the statement of Vladimir Putin, according to which the year 2002 in the Russian Federation was officially declared the mountain of Ukraine in Russia [1] .
Organization
Instead of the declared thousand, 1.5 thousand participants took part in the forum. Mass media wrote that the unexpected influx of a large number of businessmen into Kharkov put the hotel industry in a difficult position [3] . As a part of the Russian delegation, 300 people actually arrived, but more than 1,200 enterprises, banking and financial institutions made requests for a trip to Ukraine. They were mainly refused, because the hall could not accommodate everyone. In general, the delegation of the Russian Federation represented half of the regions of the Russian Federation. 25 ministries and departments participated, a number of State Duma deputies and senators arrived. Among the largest businessmen there arrived the heads of Siberian Aluminum, the Association of Industrial and Financial Groups, KamAZ JSC, Rosenergoatom, Itera, Lukoil and other enterprises [2] .
Forum Progress
The forum had six round tables, the areas of which were:
- Industry;
- Transport;
- Communication
- Fuel and energy;
- Defense and agro-industrial complexes;
- Banking and finance;
- Interregional cooperation.
Since its inception, the forum has acquired a businesslike character. The general issues of cooperation between the two countries were discussed, and it was stated that the main goal of overcoming the crisis of the 1990s should be to restore our own industrial production in order to fill the domestic market, with the attraction of capital of domestic and foreign investors for these purposes [2] .
Much attention was paid to the development, modernization, replacement and expansion of generating capacities in the electric power industry. More than 50 cooperation projects in the production of new turbines, in the production of equipment, spare parts and components for operating nuclear power plants, the development of equipment for natural gas production and transportation systems have been proposed. The discussion was attended by representatives of major Ukrainian and Russian companies in the oil and gas industry [2] .
A substantial part of the forum was devoted to issues of the military-industrial complex. The parties discussed issues of military aircraft and helicopter manufacturing. Part of the issues related to cooperation in space and rocket science, patenting the latest technologies, high-tech production, and basic research [2] .
Much attention was paid to the banking and financial sectors. A proposal was made to create an analytical Ukrainian-Russian center for the analysis and examination of joint projects. In the section on interregional cooperation, the issue of creating a joint Ukrainian-Russian commission for synchronizing legislation was considered. Also discussed were proposals for the creation of a common Ukrainian-Russian media. There was an initiative to create a joint Ukrainian-Russian university in Kharkov with a mixed teaching staff [2] .
Results
By the evening of the first day of the forum, more than 20 agreements were signed in various areas. In particular, Vorkutaugol OJSC concluded an agreement for the supply of 600 thousand tons of coking coal. The state holding company Dnepropetrovsk Machine-Building Plant has signed an agreement on further cooperation in the development of telecommunication networks based on joint developments in the field of communications. Five regions of Ukraine signed a cooperation agreement with the Murmansk region. Also, agreements were formed on the supply of Russian timber in exchange for Ukrainian goods, on gas transit through the territory of Ukraine, on the construction of new blocks of nuclear plants and other issues [2] .
According to the results of the forum, one of the areas of cooperation was the development of the production of modern rechargeable batteries in Russia and Ukraine. The participants in the business forum chose the direction for creating joint ventures to modernize existing and build new factories in Russia and Ukraine “to produce batteries for all types of vehicles, agricultural and military equipment, communications and telecommunications systems, nuclear power plants; the creation of environmentally friendly industries for their disposal. " In June 2002, in pursuance of the decisions of the forum, a joint Russian-Ukrainian LLC IStochnik TOKA Kursky (Russia, Kursk, abbreviated as the Istok plant ) was created. [4] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Alexandrova I., Petrunya A .. Understanding Strategy (newspaper), The Truth of Ukraine (December 18, 2001). Date of treatment June 12, 2013.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Maznitsa A .. Ukraine-Russia: moving towards a common currency (All-Ukrainian newspaper), Mirror of the week (December 14, 2001). Date of treatment June 12, 2013.
- ↑ Solodky S. Kharkov Forum: Economic Dimension of Rapprochement (All-Ukrainian Newspaper), Day . Date of treatment June 12, 2013.
- ↑ Plant "Source" . The official website of the company is Vesta Trading House. Date of treatment June 12, 2013. Archived June 13, 2013.