«The Maritime Congress – Far East» summed up the results
«The Maritime Congress – Far East» was held in Vladivostok, and was attended by more than 1,500 delegates – representatives of business, government and science. The Congress took place on May 30–31, 2024, at the main campus of Far Eastern Federal University, with the official support of the Government of Primorsky Krai.
The central theme of the dialogue within the business program was Russia’s turn from West to East, and the strengthening of the role of China and the countries of the Asia-Pacific Region in the foreign economic policy of the Russian Federation in terms of the shipbuilding and shipping industry.
The Plenary Session «The Far East as the Flagship of the Russian Maritime Industry in the New Coordinate System» was opened by the Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako. In his speech, he presented the results of the work of the maritime industry in the region over the past 4 years, stressed that amounts of shipbuilding work increased by 29%, making 33 billion rubles. Moreover, since 2020, the Shipbuilding Complex «Zvezda» has produced 49 vessels of various classes and purposes. The Head of Primorye also suggested thinking about setting requirements for enterprises fishing in the Far East. The regional authorities believe that this measure will motivate development of shipbuilding and ship-repair enterprises, improvement of competitiveness, and preservation of human resources.
Speaking at the Plenary Session, Gadzhimagomed Huseynov, First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for Development of the Far East and the Arctic, said that year-round navigation in the eastern sector of the Northern Sea Route (this includes the Laptev Sea, the East Siberian Sea and the Chukotsk Sea) will begin before the end of 2024.
«The key challenge for achieving the planned amounts of cargo traffic through the NSR is ensuring the timely construction of all planned vessels of the cargo and icebreaker fleet in conditions of sanctions restrictions», he stressed. «Today, there are 10 icebreakers operating in the waters of the NSR, seven of which are nuclear-powered ones. The total demand for our key investment projects in the Arctic is more than 120 vessels, their construction is provided for in the long-term plan until 2035».
The business program of the Congress included 30 events, participated by more than 220 speakers. Leading Russian and international experts, as well as heads of the largest enterprises in the field of shipbuilding, ship repair, shipping, port activities, marine logistics and extraction of aquatic biological resources, railway operators and shippers, participated in the discussion.
At the session dedicated to implementation of state support measures for increasing amounts of fish-products delivery along the Northern Sea Route, the participants discussed challenges facing the industry, tasks and ways of solving them. Lyudmila Talabayeva, member of the Federation Council Committee on Agrarian and Food Policy and Environmental Management, noted that in the current situation, during the sanctions pressure, Russia must develop shipbuilding and increase the share of Russian-made vessels in the domestic market. Participants in the discussion analyzed challenges faced by companies engaged in delivery of fish products along the Northern Sea Route, as well as considered tasks and solutions related to implementation of necessary state support measures. During the discussion, ways of improving coastal infrastructure, capacities for optimizing transport logistics, and opportunities for improving efficiency of operational delivery processes, which all together will make this route more attractive to participants in the fishing industry, were talked about. Concluding the debate, Lyudmila Talabayeva stressed that she would articulate many of the issues raised at the Round Table at the federal level.
Over 30 regions of Russia – from Kaliningrad to Sakhalin – will be represented at the venue. The business program was participated by government delegations from Moscow, Khabarovsky Krai, Primorsky Krai, Sakha Republic, Arkhangelsk Region, Kamchatsky Krai.
More than 130 foreign participants came to the Congress. China sent the most representative delegation. Delegates from India, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Kazakhstan and Belarus also took part in the Congress. The international block of the business program included several events: among them, there are the Strategic Session «International Cooperation in Shipbuilding and Shipping: Priorities and Capacities of the Asia-Pacific Region», the Practice Session «Successful Business with China: How It Works», as well as the International Business Dialogues «Russia – China» and «Russia – India». The Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Vladivostok, Ms. Piao Yangfan and the Consul General of the Republic of India in Vladivostok Gaurav Siddarth addressed the Plenary Session.
At the venue of the Congress, the meeting of the Governor of Primorsky Krai with the business community of the Russian regions took place. The meeting was held in framework of the Marine Governors Club, a new communication platform organized by «NEVA International». The discussion was participated by representatives of the Department of Shipbuilding Industry and Marine Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Rosmorport, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, as well as top managers of the Shipbuilding Complex «Zvezda», USC, the Centre for Shipbuilding and Ship-Repair Technology, KMP, the Construction Dredging Company, Nakhodka Shipyard and EXPOFORUM International.
16 cooperation agreements were signed on the Congress sidelines.
In support of the event, the exhibition area of 3,500 sq. m was deployed, with 60 exhibitors, Russian and foreign organizations of the marine industry, to take part. The Governor of Primorsky Krai Oleg Kozhemyako made the official tour and inspection of the exposition. He was most interested in the stands of the Shipbuilding Complex «Zvezda», the FESCO Transport Group, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping, the DCSS and the joint stand of the Government of Primorsky Krai, with participation of 16 major enterprises of the maritime industry in Primorye.
The National Pavilion of China, a new unique location of the Congress, brought together major manufacturers and suppliers interested in establishing collaboration with Russian companies, with tea ceremonies to be held for the guests.
For efficient interacting between Russian and foreign participants, the Business Networking Centre operated, jointly organized by Rosmorport. With the support of Rosmorport, in the lounge area, the photo exhibition was organized to illustrate main activities of the enterprise, with the focus on current projects in the Far East.
For the Congress delegates, excursions to the Shipbuilding Complex «Zvezda», the Vladivostok Commercial Seaport (a key stevedoring asset of the FESCO Transport Group), the Far Eastern Marine Training Centre at Admiral G.I. Nevelskoi Maritime State University and the «Russkiy Mintai» Fish Processing Plant (part of the Russian Fishing Company). About 300 participants were able to get on excursions on the days of the event.
Thus, the Maritime Congress became the main industry platform for demonstrating the potential of the shipbuilding industry and the logistics complex of Russia in general and the Far East in particular, as well as for promoting products and services of domestic enterprises in the domestic and foreign markets. The event was covered by over 100 accredited journalists from federal and regional media, among them – TASS, Interfax, RBC Primorye, GTRK Vladivostok, Primorye Public Television, OTR, OTV, Chinese News Agency «Xinhua», PortNews Media Group, «Mediapaluba» News Agency, etc.
The unprecedented for the region convention and exhibition event was held by «NEVA International», the organizer of the largest industry exhibition «NEVA».
The title partners of the Congress became such industry leaders as the «Zvezda» Shipbuilding Complex, the FESCO Transport Group, the Far Eastern Shipbuilding and Ship Repair Centre and the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping. The strategic partner was the Marine Instrumentation Corporation, the partners of the business program were the All-Russian Association of Fishery Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE), Rosmorport, the Russian Chamber of Shipping, the Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB), the «Marinet» Industry Centre, «Askon», HeadHunter, Far Eastern Federal University, St. Petersburg State Maritime Technical University, Higher School of Economics. The general information partners were TASS and «Korabel.ru».
The next «The Maritime Congress – Far East» will take place in 2026, which is supported by the agreement between the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Primorsky Krai and «NEVA International».
Besides, the dates of the upcoming events held by «NEVA International» have become known. So, the company will be a co-organizer of the 2nd Forum «Arctic – Regions» to be held on August 8–9, 2024, in Arkhangelsk. And on September 24–25, 2024, the All-Russian Maritime Congress will be held in Moscow.