FLO Delegation to St. Petersburg and Moscow, Russia

FICCI Ladies Organization (FLO) as a part of their annual delegation visited St Petersburg and Moscow between Sept 18-25, 2021. A twenty member, multisectoral all women’s delegation was led by Ujjwala Singhania, President FLO.

India shares a special and multifaceted relationship with Russia which has evolved over the past decades. Traditionally, the Indo-Russian strategic partnership has been built on five major components: politics, defense, civil nuclear energy, anti-terrorism co-operation and space. In recent years a sixth, economic component has grown in importance, with both countries setting a target of reaching 30 billion dollars in bilateral trade by 2025. As a women’s chamber body, we look forward at capitalizing the trade opportunities between the two countries.

Meeting in the SPB Chamber of Commerce and Industry September 20, 2021

The Chamber and its Board of Governors have been one of the most influential organizations of St. Petersburg’s economic growth and development since its inception. In addition to promoting the city continuously and countrywide, the Chamber successfully advocated municipal improvements and organized local civic clubs and social groups for visiting vacationers. After all, the mission of the Chamber is to promote quality of life and attract people to come to St. Petersburg, as well as develop business in the community.

The meeting was led by Ms. Ekaterina Lebedeva, Vice President, SPB CCI who welcomed the delegation. Ms. Ekaterina Lebedeva highlighted the leading positions that women occupy in St. Petersburg in Industries, Education, Business or Finance. Some of the sectors which were identified for collaboration include Automotive, Food Processing, Pharmaceuticals, Tourism, Construction, and Education

Ms. Ujjwala Singhania, in her remarks set the objective of the meeting and spoke on the initiatives that FLO has championed including that of Start up, FLO women directors initiative- to train and create a pool of Board Ready Independent Women Directors, FLO Industrial Park – Hyderabad with, Village Industries and Transformation initiative and Trade Initiative to Empowering women through trade & business aims at creating a worldwide forum for the exchange of information, experience, visibility, and connectivity among women business owners, setting the stage for new opportunities and joint ventures among entrepreneurs and business leaders etc.

Her remarks were followed by the remarks from Dr. Aseem Vohra, First Secretary, Economic Affairs, Embassy of India, Moscow. On behalf of the Indian government, Dr Vohra was hopeful that the interaction will be a steppingstone and that the group will be instrumental in furthering the economic goals set by the leaders of two country.

There was a round of introduction by the participating delegates of the two chambers. And the two sides agreed to work on the following
1. Share contacts of members
2. Facilitate collaborating in identified sector
3. Participate in each other’s programs if shared in advance

The Meeting ended with a tour of the historic building.

Meeting with Ross Congress foundation, September 20, 2021

The Roscongress Foundation is a socially oriented non-financial development institution and a major organizer of international conventions; exhibitions; and business, public, sporting, and cultural events. It was established in pursuance of a decision by the President of the Russian Federation. The Foundation was established in 2007 with the aim of facilitating the development of Russia’s economic potential, promoting its national interests, and strengthening the country’s image. One of the roles of the Foundation is to comprehensively evaluate, analyze, and cover issues on the Russian and global economic agendas. It also offers administrative services, provides promotional support for business projects and attracting investment, and helps foster social entrepreneurship and charitable initiatives.

Mr. Denis Klucharev, Head of Department for International Cooperation of the Roscongress Foundation gave a brief overview of the Roscongress Foundation Roscongress Foundation already partners with FICCI and ASSOCHAM in conducting several joint business events and conferences.

Mr. Klucharev also extended a formal invitation to the FLO delegation for participating in the Third Eurasian Women’s Forum to be held from October 13—15, 2021 in St. Petersburg.

Ms. Ujjwala Singhania introduced FLO and its initiatives and hope that Memorandum of Understanding between the two organizations will pave way for developing women’s entrepreneurship, social communications, and create favorable conditions for trade and cooperation between their respective business circles. She expressed her hope that the partnership will help promote the bilateral trade and investment agenda laid out by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin.

Dr. Aseem Vohra (First Secretary, Economic & Commercial Wing, Embassy of India, Moscow), on behalf of Indian Ambassador to the Russian Federation, proposed the idea of a special India-Russia Women Business leaders/entrepreneurs dialogue at the next edition of SPIEF in 2022, which was well received by both parties.

Both the parties also discussed possibilities of cooperation in the Dubai Expo 2021 where FLO is participating. The two sides also committed to exploring business opportunities in Russian provinces apart from Moscow and St. Petersburg under the MoU.

Lunch hosted by Mr. Kumar Gaurav, Consul General, Consulate General of India, St. Petersburg

The FLO delegation was hosted by Mr. Kumar Gaurav, Consul General at the Consulate General of India, St. Petersburg. The delegation was addressed by the Consul General, who expressed his happiness of having met an all-women business delegation of FLO and hoped the delegation success in meeting their objective.

Business meetings in Moscow
Reception by the Indian Embassy in Russia

H.E Ambassador Sanjay Kumar Varma hosted the FLO delegation. The delegation was met with important business associates, whom the delegation would meet during their stay in Moscow, Women members of parliament, Deputy Chief of mission and some other guests of the embassy.

The evening was curated by the cultural secretary with Russian and Indian dance and music.

Meeting with Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and BRICS WBA Russian Chapter members, September 23, 2021

Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation hosted a meeting of FLO with the Russian Chapter of BRICS Women’s Business Alliance, represented by the following key members of the Chapter:
• Ms. Anna Nesterova, Chairperson of the Russian Chapter of BRICS WBA
• Ms. Veronika Peshkova, UNIDO Goodwill Ambassador
• Ms. Elena Chashchina, CEO of EPOTOS Group of Companies
• Ms. Galina Volkova, CEO of Orthomoda

The two sides presented the overview of work they do with women entrepreneurs and professionals. Possible areas of collaboration were discussed with a proposed special focus on promoting trade between the women of the two countries. It was agreed to organize smaller roundtable programs to understand the opportunities and barriers. The two sides also agreed to virtually sign a Memorandum of Understanding in order to formalize their commitments.

Meeting with Delovaya Russia, September 23, 2021
All-Russia Public Organization Business Russia

The delegation met the All-Russia Public Organization Business Russia, which was founded 20 years ago and as on date unites more than 7 thousand entrepreneurs.

The key participants in the meeting from Business Russia were as follows:
• Ms. Nonna Kagramanyan, Vice-President, Head of Executive Committee
• Ms. Olga Kulikova, Member of General Council, Business Ambassador to India
• Ms. Anton Slinchenko, Head of International Cooperation Department

After introduction of the two prominent bodies of the respective countries and introduction to the kind of initiatives that both sides work, there was a round of introductions of members present from both sides.

Meeting with Business Council for Cooperation

A meeting hosted by Business Council for Cooperation with India, Government of Moscow
was organized by the Department of External Economic and International Relations of Moscow and attended by the leading representatives from Moscow trade and business promotion bodies and women entrepreneurs from various business sectors.

The following key participants delivered presentations during the event:
a. Ms. Ekaterina Elshina, Head of Division for coordination of activities of the Department and Advisor to Chairman of the Board, Business Council for Cooperation with India
b. Ms. Tatyana Mineyeva, Business Ombudsman, Moscow Government
c. Ms. Tatyana Gvilava, President, All-Russian public organization “Ladies in Business”
d. Ms. Marina Pligina, Head of “Lady007” Business Accelerator
e. Mr. Vladislav Mischenko, Director for Promotion of export of goods and services, Moscow Export Center During the event, FLO exchanged physical copies of the virtually signed Memorandum of Understanding with Business Council for Cooperation with India and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with All-Russia public organization “Ladies in Business”, one of the oldest and most prominent associations of women entrepreneurs in Russia established 20 years ago, which today has more than 3000 members and 53 regional offices across the country.

The following were the highlights of the delegation:

• Priority sectors identified for engagement
• Education & human resources
• Food processing
• Handicrafts, jewelry design, fashion & high-end textiles
• Pharmaceuticals including veterinary medicines
• Advertisement & branding
• Construction & real estate, engineering sectors
• For sector-specific engagements, virtual and physical meetings will be planned with delegates and other members of FLO.
• First Secretary Dr. Aseem Vohra (eco.moscow@mea.gov.in) has been identified as the nodal officer for assisting FLO in facilitating identification of suitable Russian partners/collaborators on the Russian side.
• 4 MOU signed
• FLO to decide on participation in the first India-Russia Women Entrepreneurs/Business Dialogue at the prestigious St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) beginning with the next edition of the Forum in June, 2022.