В Куала-Лумпур завершилась вторая сессия Делового консультативного совета АТЭС под председательством Зиявудина Магомедова
At ABAC's second session, Russian proposals were discussed about optimizing the supply chain, "green" construction, and food security.
According to Mr. Magomedov, "Business and government are actively working together throughout the world to advance the interests of the country. Russian initiatives in the Business Advisory Council are augmenting the high-priority topics that the country's leadership has identified as key to our chairmanship of APEC."
These initiatives concern transportation and logistics and are aimed at optimizing the process of customs clearance and introducing an effective, standardized, electronic document-management system and new standards for identifying cargo. Implementing these objectives will allow Russia to make greater use of its potential as a transit country and to attract more of the freight traffic between Asia and Europe, which is currently worth more than $1 trillion per year.
In green construction, the proposals anticipate the development of new environmental standards in Russia and other APEC countries. As a result of the work that has been done regarding food security, a new agency has been created, the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security, which will have its first meeting in late May in Kazan. Because the partnership includes various representatives of the business community, it can ensure an effective dialog between all those who play a part in the supply chain, including producers, consumers, transportation networks, etc. Initiatives from the Russian business community will form the basis of the recommendations that ABAC will forward to the leaders of the member economies at the APEC summit in Vladivostok in September, 2012.
The Russian deputy foreign minister, Igor Morgulov, who took part in the session, praised the council's work to date. "It's encouraging to see ABAC, which this year is headed by a representative of Russia, work so energetically and productively, filling APEC's agenda with more practical initiatives, which the business community of not only Russia but the entire Asia-Pacific region are interested in seeing put into practice."
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is the forum's key working body, through which it interacts with the business communities in APEC countries. In July, 2010, Ziyavudin Magomedov, the chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group; Oleg Deripaska, the general director of the firm Basic Element; and Andrei Kostin, the president and chairman of the board of VTB Bank, OJSC, were appointed as Russia's representatives to the Business Advisory Council (ABAC) of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum for 2010-2012, at the order of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev. In 2010, Ziyavudin Magomedov was appointed to chair ABAC for 2012 (the year Russia is scheduled to chair APEC), and to co-chair ABAC for 2011 and 2013.
Media publications on this topic:
ITAR-TASS May 24, 2012
A new channel in the Far East to export Russian grain could be created within the context of APEC.
KUALA LUMPUR, May 24. /Correspondent/. At the first meeting of the APEC Policy Partnership on Food Security, Russia will propose the creation by 2014 of a new channel in the Far East to export Russian grain. That meeting will be held May 28-29 in Kazan. This partnership, which was established at Russia's initiative, is a new APEC agency, and is composed of representatives of government and business.
"During the partnership's first meeting in Kazan, the Russian business community will present a draft road map for the development of Russian grain exports," reported Ziyavudin Magomedov, the head of APEC's Business Advisory Council /ABAC/ and the chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group. He claims, "It is essential to create channels to ship Russian grain to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region, and this requires new infrastructure in the Far East."
Magomedov noted that Russia can play a more active role in ensuring food security. "Russia has the capability to increase its grain exports from today's 25 million tons to 40 million tons by 2020, but to do this we need to invest in an export infrastructure and create a company that will champion our nation and promote Russian grain on the world market," said Magomedov. He claims that the current capacity for handling grain exports in Russian seaports is stretched to the limit. "This is why it is so important to invest in the construction of new grain-loading facilities, because otherwise it simply cannot be exported from the country," he explained.
During its first meeting, it is expected that the partnership will establish the basic parameters of its future work, to include the security of shipments, product quality, and methods of standardizing and reducing losses while products are being transported. It is expected for the project to be developed in conjunction with the Agency of Strategic Initiatives and to be presented to leaders of Russia and other APEC countries during the summit in Vladivostok in September, 2012.
Currently, 925 million of the world's inhabitants are undernourished, and almost two-thirds of those, approximately 580 million, live in the Asia-Pacific region. The FAO predicts that the Earth's population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and there will be a 70-100% increase in demand for food. But growth in agriculture will slow, averaging only 1.5 % by 2030 and 0.9% between 2030-2050, compared with the 2.3% growth seen since 1961. According to David Dodwell, the executive director of the Hong Kong-APEC Trade Policy Group, "Russia is one of the biggest players, along with the United States and China, and it can play a key role in global food security."
RIA Novosti May 24, 2012
During the first meeting of APEC's Policy Partnership on Food Security, which will be held May 28-29 in Kazan, Russia will propose the creation of a new channel in the Far East by 2014 to export Russian grain.
May 24 RIA Novosti "During the partnership's first meeting in Kazan, the Russian business community will present a draft road map for the development of Russian grain exports," reported Ziyavudin Magomedov, the head of the APEC's Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group.
He claims, "It is essential to create channels to ship Russian grain to the markets of the Asia-Pacific region, and this requires new infrastructure in the Far East."
This partnership, which was established at Russia's initiative, is a new APEC agency, and is composed of representatives of government and business.
Magomedov noted that Russia can play a more active role in ensuring food security. "Russia has the capability to increase its grain exports from today's 25 million tons to 40 million tons by 2020, but for this we need to invest in export infrastructure and create a company that will champion our nation and promote Russian grain on the world market," said Magomedov.
He claims that the current capacity for handling grain exports in Russian seaports is stretched to the limit. "This is why it is so important to invest in the construction of new grain-loading facilities, because otherwise it simply cannot be exported from the country," he added.
During its first meeting, it is expected that the partnership will establish the key parameters of its future work, which will include the security of shipments, product quality, and methods of standardizing and reducing losses while products are being transported. It is expected for the project to be developed in conjunction with the Agency of Strategic Initiatives and to be presented to leaders of Russia and other APEC countries during the summit in Vladivostok in September, 2012.
Currently, 925 million of the world's inhabitants are undernourished, and almost two-thirds of those, approximately 580 million, live in the Asia-Pacific region. The FAO predicts that the Earth's population will reach 9 billion by 2050 and there will be a 70-100% increase in demand for food (including a hike in demand for grain, from 2.1 billion tons to 3 billion tons). But growth in agriculture will slow, averaging only 1.5 % by 2030 and 0.9% between 2030-2050, compared with the 2.3% growth seen since 1961.
INTERFAX, May 24, 2012
Russian businessmen, along with the ACI, plan to create a new channel in the Far East by 2014 to export Russian grain - the head of ABAC
May 24 Kuala Lumpur INTERFAX - A new channel could materialize in the Far East to export Russian grain, claimed Ziyavudin Magomedov, the head of APEC's Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is the forum's primary working body, through which it interacts with the business communities in APEC countries.
A draft road map for the development of Russian grain exports is currently being readied for presentation at the first meeting of APEC's Policy Partnership on Food Security, to be held May 28-29 of this year in Kazan. This partnership, which was established as part of Russia's chairmanship of APEC, is one of the forum's new agencies, and is composed of representatives of government and business. Due to the fact that the partnership includes various representatives of the business community, it can ensure an effective dialog between all those who play a part in the supply chain, including producers, consumers, transportation networks, etc.
"During the partnership's first meeting in Kazan, the Russian business community will present a draft road map for the development of Russian grain exports. One of the road map's most important actions will be to create a new channel by 2014 in the Far East to export Russian grain," Ziyavudin Magomedov told reporters after ABAC's scheduled session in Kuala Lumpur.
It is planned for the project to be developed in conjunction with the Agency of Strategic Initiatives (ASI) and then to be presented to leaders of Russia and other APEC countries during the summit in Vladivostok in September, 2012.
Ziyavudin Magomedov stressed the need for Russia to take a more active role in ensuring food security in the world, especially since that country has the capability of increasing its grain exports to 40 million tons by 2020, up from the current level of 25 million tons. However he claims that will require investment in export infrastructure and "creating a company that will champion our nation and promote Russian grain on the world market."
"The current capacity for handling grain exports in Russian seaports is stretched to the limit. This is why it is so important to invest in the construction of new grain-loading facilities, because otherwise it simply cannot be exported from the country," claimed the head of ABAC.
RIA Novosti May 24, 2012
Ziyavudin Magomedov, the head of the Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and the chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group, told reporters that an international identification system can be adopted in Russia’s ports that would speed up the processing and transferring of containers by 4-6 times.
"One of the results of our work at APEC will be the introduction of radio frequency identification (RFID) on containers," he noted.
RFID systems use electronic identification chips that can be synchronized with global navigation systems and allow cargo to be instantly identified during sorting and its movements tracked in real time.
"One of our goals during Russia's chairmanship of APEC is to reach an agreement on a single, regional standard to be used in Russia. The freight shipper will tag the container, and scanners at the ports will be able to identify it instantly, allowing it be sorted more quickly and sent to the recipient," said Magomedov.
According to data from the World Bank, it currently takes an average of two days to process an imported container arriving in a Russian port, and three for containers being exported, while other countries, such as Singapore, can do this in only one day. The introduction of a system to automatically identify containers will mean that for multimodal transportation, cargo at ports can be processed and transferred to other modes of transportation 4-6 times more quickly.
"These measures will help Russian business compete more successfully for the right to move cargo between Europe and Asia for the world's leading transportation companies and thus win their share of this dynamic market. We are far from realizing our country's full potential as a transit area," stated Magomedov.
Introducing RFID will also help address the problem of running empty rail cars, which has increased significantly in recent years. A single electronic system that keeps track of all the rail cars and containers in use in the country will at least lessen the problem and reduce the percentage of empty runs back to the level from the Soviet era - between 28% and 29%.
An identification and tracking system will significantly improve the security of shipments and, consequently, reduce transaction costs, noted experts from the transportation industry.
Summing up the results of the second session of APEC's Business Advisory Council that recently ended in Malaysia, Magomedov noted that the council members have agreed to develop recommendations regarding green urban development and road maps for the development of regional infrastructure and food security and to present those suggestions to the leaders of APEC countries at the summit in Vladivostok.
The head of ABAC noted that "Russia will chair the G20 in 2013, and the G8 and BRICS in 2014. Such important forums provide a unique opportunity for the Russian business community to put critical issues on the global agenda, and resolving those problems will strengthen the competitiveness of Russian business," said Magomedov.
Rossiyskaya Gazeta, May 24, 2012
Advice to leaders - the summit
Preparations are being made in Malaysia for the APEC summit in Vladivostok.
Today in the Malaysian capital, work is wrapping up on this year's second meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
The APEC summit is preceded by a series of ABAC sessions. Proposals in the form of reports that include recommendations are being prepared at these sessions and will be presented to the leaders of APEC countries, creating the agenda for the summit.
The second ABAC session held under Russia's chairmanship gathered businessmen, officials, and experts from 21 countries in the region. The main topics were transportation and logistics, eco-cities, and food security.
One of the high-priority topics at APEC for the Russian chairmanship is the promotion of innovative growth. An initiative to improve the urban environment is being developed within the context of this topic.
The final recommendations on the parameters of international environmental standards for urban development will be presented to the heads of APEC countries in Vladivostok. "This initiative is directed at all the APEC economies, including Russia. The creation of standards for urban development will be one of the real accomplishments of Russia's chairmanship of APEC, something that will improve the quality of life in our country. As a member of the Skolkovo Foundation, I will do everything possible to help the future city of Innograd become the first town in our country to be compliant with the standards of sustainable development," said Ziyavudin Magomedov, the chairman of the APEC Business Advisory Council.
Another of the summit's topics, transportation infrastructure, was vigorously discussed yesterday at a "round table" where the participants got a glimpse of what traffic will look like as far into the future as the year 2030. "One of the results of ABAC's work in 2012 will be a road map for the development of regional infrastructure, which we will present at the summit in Vladivostok. Developing transportation infrastructure, including in the Far East, is of great importance to the entire APEC region, as well as to our country. In particular, it will allow Russian agricultural producers to enter the expanding food markets of Asia, and it will permit Russian business in general to direct their production efforts toward the markets of the Asia-Pacific region and to create new jobs," says Ziyavudin Magomedov.
Igor Morgulov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, believes that the development of a public-private partnership within APEC is one of the most important priorities of the forum's work to put Russia's initiatives into practice this year. "Hopes for increased regional integration, overcoming the effects of the global recession, and accelerating the growth of business are all tied to the APEC topics that Russia selected as priorities. Here's one specific example: if initiatives will be acted upon in APEC that are aimed at removing bottlenecks in the regional transportation system, it will be possible by 2015 to reduce the time and cost of shipments to the region by 10%," he explained.
A resolution needs to be signed today establishing a partnership on food security - the leaders spoke about this at the APEC summit in Japan back in 2010. The number of the world's inhabitants who suffer from hunger is not diminishing, and two-thirds of them live in Asia. Russia is one of the biggest players in the food market because it has plenty of farmland, water, and technology. ABAC believes that grain exports could be increased several times over, but that will require the capacity of the seaports to be expanded.
RIA Novosti, May 24, 2012
Skolkovo may become Russia's first eco-city - the head of ABAC
Skolkovo's Innograd may become the first city in Russia to meet environmental standards for urban development, believes Ziyavudin Magomedov, the chairman of APEC's Business Advisory Council.
"This initiative (regarding the construction of eco-cities - ed.) is directed at all the APEC economies, including Russia. The creation of standards for urban development will be one of the accomplishments of Russia's chairmanship, something that will improve the quality of life in our country. As a member of the Skolkovo Foundation, I will do everything possible to help the future city of Innograd become the first town in Russia to be compliant with the standards of sustainable development," he said.
As part of the ABAC session in Malaysia, Ernst & Young and APEC's Russian National Business Center presented a draft of recommendations for the construction of "sustainable cities" (eco-cities) in APEC countries. The concept of "sustainable" cities is based on the idea of linking the development of society, the economy, and environmental conservation.
The recommendations that were presented suggest that international standards governing the quality of urban environments be developed taking each of these elements into account. For a city to meet these standards, it must be safe, with developed transportation and social infrastructure and "green" buildings, and it must manage its resources effectively. The report notes that Russia does not currently have any cities that meet these guidelines.
The final recommendations on the parameters of the international environmental standards for urban development will be presented to the leaders of the 21 APEC economies at the summit in Vladivostok.
In order to develop "green" construction in the APEC countries it will be necessary to modify the principles of regulation. According to experts at Ernst & Young, "The production costs of environmentally friendly materials are always higher, and so work needs to be done to make them cost-effective for manufacturers and developers to use. These mechanisms already exist in many countries, such as tax incentives, subsidies, and favorable credit terms." They believe that Russia needs to establish these tools as well.
Russia currently has only one building that is certified as meeting international environmental standards, while about 8.5 thousand already exist in the US.
Over 7 billion people inhabit the Earth, half of whom live in cities. This number is expected to reach 70% by 2050, since the world's urban population is increasing at the rate of one million per week.
A road map for the development of the region's infrastructure will be presented to the leaders of the APEC countries at the summit in Vladivostok.
Speaking in reference to the results of a round table on the development of transportation infrastructure in APEC by 2030, Ziyavudin Magomedov, the head of ABAC and chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group, told reporters, "One of the results of the work of ABAC (APEC's Business Advisory Council) in 2012 will be a road map for the development of the region's infrastructure, which we will present at the summit in Vladivostok."
He added that the development of transportation infrastructure, including in the Far East, is of great importance to the entire APEC region, as well as to Russia.
"In particular, it will allow Russian agricultural producers to enter the expanding food markets of Asia, and it will permit Russian business in general to direct their production efforts toward the markets of the Asia-Pacific region and to create new jobs," he added.
Drewry Shipping Consultants prepared a report on the development of transportation infrastructure, which was presented at the round table.
It is anticipated that global demand for transportation capacity will increase, and Russia will be able to win up to 10% of this transit freight traffic. The report notes that more than $1 trillion worth of goods is currently traded between Europe and Asia, an amount which is increasing at an average annual rate of 5%, meaning that number will double by 2030, exceeding $2 trillion.
According to the authors of the study, under these conditions shipping companies will need to increase the size of their large container ships in the next few years, and port operators will need to create special terminals - "super-hubs" - that will be able to serve giant container ships carrying 18-20 thousand 20-foot containers. Shanghai and Singapore are currently the world's leading hub ports for container ships. However, the report notes that Vladivostok could join their ranks if there is an increase in the speed at which its port processes containers and its rail lines transport cargo.
According to Magomedov, "The growth of global trade and its containerization represents a unique opportunity for Russia, because the world's trade routes from Europe to Asia are overburdened, and giant container ships cannot pass through the Suez Canal."
"By making its ports and railroads available to service trade between Europe and Asia, Russia will be able to fully utilize its potential as a transit country, but first we need to improve the quality of our transportation infrastructure by introducing both a "single-window" system for customs procedures as well as electronic document management, while eliminating bottlenecks on the railroads," said Magomedov.
RBC daily online May 21, 2012
The second session of the APEC Business Advisory Council, which is chaired by Ziyavudin Magomedov, the owner of Summa Group, has opened in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). Businessmen from the 21 member economies will discuss Russian initiatives in technology transfer, transportation and logistics, eco-cities, and food security.
"Public-private partnerships are the most effective form of infrastructure development," claimed Ziyavudin Magomedov, the chairman of ABAC, at the opening ceremony. "In 2011, natural disasters caused an average 0.5% drop in global GDP and a 0.9% decline was seen in APEC countries. Growth in investments slowed in almost all the APEC economies as well. Reviving growth and creating a favorable economic climate are the joint responsibilities of government and business."
Deputy Foreign Minister Igor Morgulov welcomed the development of this PPP, saying, "hopes for increased regional integration, overcoming the effects of the global recession, and accelerating the growth of business are all tied to the APEC topics that Russia selected as priorities. Here's one specific example: if initiatives will be acted upon in APEC that are aimed at removing bottlenecks in the regional transportation system, it will be possible by 2015 to reduce the time and cost of shipments to the region by 10%."
The APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) is the forum's key working body, through which it interacts with the business communities in APEC countries. ABAC's main objective is to develop proposals regarding the creation of a favorable environment for trade and investment in APEC, economic and technological collaboration, the creation of a favorable setting for commerce and industry, and to prepare reports for the annual APEC summits that include the summary recommendations of competent, private-sector representatives regarding the implementation of APEC's policy documents.
In July, 2010, Ziyavudin Magomedov, the chairman of the board of directors of Summa Group; Oleg Deripaska, the general director of the firm Basic Element; and Andrei Kostin, the chairman of the board of VTB Bank, OJSC, were appointed by executive order of Dmitry Medvedev, president of the Russian Federation, as Russia's representatives to the Business Advisory Council of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum for 2010-2012
In 2010, Ziyavudin Magomedov was appointed to chair ABAC for 2012 (the year Russia is scheduled to chair APEC), and to co-chair ABAC for 2011 and 2013.
ITAR-TASS, May 21, 2012
The second session of the APEC Business Advisory Council /ABAC/ held under the chairmanship of Russia is currently underway in Malaysia. Entrepreneurs from the region's 21 economies are preparing proposals for the leaders who will be attending the APEC summit in Vladivostok.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Magomedov called the cooperation between government and business a key factor in long-term economic development. “Public-private partnerships are the most effective form of infrastructure development. In 2011, natural disasters caused an average 0.5% drop in global GDP and a 0.9% decline was seen in APEC countries. Growth in investments slowed in almost all the APEC economies as well," he stated, emphasizing that "reviving growth and creating a favorable economic climate are the joint responsibilities of government and business."
Igor Morgulov, the Russian deputy foreign minister, believes that "the development of a public-private partnership within APEC is one of the most important priorities of the forum's work to put Russia's initiatives into practice this year." The diplomat commented, "APEC's Business Advisory Council, which this year is headed by a representative of Russia, is working energetically and productively, filling APEC's agenda with many practical initiatives, which the business community of not only Russia but the entire Asia-Pacific region is interested in seeing put into practice."
The Russian Foreign Ministry notes that "hopes for increased regional integration, overcoming the effects of the global recession, and accelerating the growth of business are all tied to the APEC topics that Russia selected as priorities."
APEC's Business Advisory Council is the forum's key working body, through which it interacts with the business communities in APEC countries. ABAC's main objective is to develop proposals regarding the creation of a favorable environment for trade and investment in APEC, economic and technological collaboration, the creation of a favorable setting for commerce and industry, and to prepare reports for the annual APEC summits that include the summary recommendations of competent, private-sector representatives regarding the implementation of APEC's policy documents.