The meeting was organized by the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, the Committee on Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade of St. Petersburg.

Official greetings to the participants and guests of the forum were sent by Denis Manturov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, and Mikhail Myasnikovich, Chairman of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board. They named the Russian Industrialist one of the central platforms for discussing technological issues and sharing experiences, and invited delegates to quickly and effectively adapt to the challenging economic conditions and establish operational cooperation.

President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin said that the forum introduced the participants to a wide range of recommendations on critical issues: ensuring technological sovereignty, digital transition in the industry, human resources development, etc.

“Extreme sanctions required quick solutions, business and the state coped with the challenges, but this is only the first stage. We will also need systemic measures, including fine-tuning the toolkit to support the industry. The goal is to be ahead of the world’s technological level; import overtaking instead of import substitution,” he said.

First Deputy Minister of Industrial Policy and Trade of the Russian Federation Vasily Osmakov noted the necessity of turning the course from the west to the south and east, creating new logistic corridors and adapting export support measures to new corridors. The key constraint is not money, but human resources, he added.

Kirill Polyakov, vice-governor of St. Petersburg, has declared support of industry as a priority of the regional policy. According to him, the city approved industrial policy until 2025; there is an increase in investment in fixed capital, productivity growth, and an increase in the size of the Industrial Development Fund.

“Our industrial production is 3 % up. The contribution of the industrial complex to the city’s budget is about 45 %. Human resources are one of the main problems and a constraint for the development,” he added.

Sergey Kogogin, Chairman of the Commission of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs for Automotive and Agricultural Engineering, General Director of KAMAZ, noted that the speed of decision-making in the industry has increased significantly and the automotive industry can be regarded as a “mirror” of the economy. Chairman of the RUIE Committee on Integration, Trade and Customs Policy and WTO, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Severstal PJSC Alexey Mordashov reminded that the gloomiest forecasts made in spring 2022 did not come true.

“We have export restrictions, we’ve lost markets in Europe and the United States. Sanctions and logistics are obstacles, and the strong ruble has taken a toll on exporters. In addition, we are seeing a creeping increase in taxes. I would urge my colleagues in the Government and the Presidential Administration to act quickly. We need new detailed programs for human resources, export and import support. Sanctions are like frost, you can live with them, but you have to “wiggle”. We need to stabilize and reach a plateau and start growing on a new base,” he said.

First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee of the Federal Assembly of Russia on Economic Policy Denis Kravchenko emphasized the need to ensure the country’s industrial sovereignty. According to him, for this purpose it is necessary to consolidate efforts, to determine the state development strategy for 5–10 years, to strengthen the industrial infrastructure, and to support business in the regions of presence.

Dmitry Pristanskov, State Secretary, Vice President of PJSC MMC Norilsk Nickel, presented several scenarios of social and economic development of the world economy until 2050. Mikhail Oseevsky, Chairman of RUIE Committee on Digital Economy and President of PJSC Rostelecom, spoke about the objectives of import substitution, working with partners under long-term contracts, the company’s readiness to invest in businesses “with potential”.

Rector of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University Mikhail Gordin discussed personnel training.

“One has to educate students by letting them work at different stages of the product life cycle – in science, in development, and in series production. Businesses should set real business goals for students – not to earn money, but to create the experience for students and faculty members. There is no way to fully satisfy the staffing hunger, and engineers will always be in demand. We will develop the overall system of engineering education in the country,” he said.

At the end of the plenary session of the Russian Industrialist forum, the Governor of St. Petersburg Alexander Beglov has spoken. He discussed the implementation of human resources policy in the industrial sector of St. Petersburg.

“We need to think and act strategically, knowing that we have a shortage of personnel – in quantitative and qualitative terms. Today, the city’s industry employs about 390,000 workers; this is not enough to ensure technological sovereignty. We need to create high-tech jobs on the basis of the existing production facilities, to eliminate the shortage of skilled workers, so personnel training must begin at school,” said Alexander Beglov.

At the end of the meeting, Governor Alexander Beglov, Head of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Alexander Shokhin and President of St. Petersburg Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Anatoly Turchak signed a tripartite agreement. The document envisages cooperation under the national projects “Productivity”, “Education”, and “Demography”.