Aug
  2019
ISSUE
No. 234

  USRCC Business Newsletter
USRCC Activities
We are very excited to announce that 2019 marks the USRCC's 10th anniversary !

The 10th Anniversary will be a year-long celebration commemorating the USRCC's 10 years of existence. Join us in celebration at our events and support us in continuing our mission! 

The 2019 events will feature high caliber speakers, bring together the most influential key business leaders, experts and decision makers, and will provide our members and stakeholders with the perfect educational and networking opportunities. 

We are looking forward to another successful year! 
Summer Business Networking Event

On August 29, 2019 the USRCC hosted the Summer Business Networking Event at The West End - A Public House, Houston, TX. The event drew more than 50 business professionals from a variety of different industries and backgrounds, including Oil & Gas, IT, Oil and Gas, Banking, Financial, Law, Real Estate Development, and many others. Among others, the attendees included representatives from Dunbar Harder, ExxonMobil,  Halliburton, Eckel Manufacturing, Turkish Airlines, Moody Rambin, BBVA, Rusk Capital Management, Atlantic Ro Ro,  and others.






Attendees had a chance to make new business connections and learn about the USRCC's upcoming events.  We would like to thank our attendees, members and volunteers for joining us at this Networking Event and making the event possible.
 
To view event pictures, visit our  Facebook page
USRCC Partner Event



The Gastech Exhibition is the world's largest marketplace for the gas, LNG and energy industry supply chain. With more features and opportunities than ever before, and where millions of contracts are signed - be part of the Gastech Exhibition to secure new business, service your existing clients and engage in industry dialogue.

When: 17 - 19 September 2019
Where:  1 NRG Park, Houston, TX 77054, USA

For more information and registration please visit www.gastechevent.com.

 

The U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce 
invites you to attend

The 9th Annual Welcome Reception
Honoring Russian and CIS Delegations to the 
Breakbulk Americas 2019

Please join the U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce in welcoming Russian and CIS delegations to the  9th Annual Breakbulk Americas Reception. This annual event draws decision makers in U.S.- Russia trade and investment, including senior representatives from major shipping and logistics companies, leaders in the oil and gas industry, government officials, elected officials and more.

Breakbulk Americas is the largest and most important gathering in North America for companies involved in the shipping of heavy-lift, project cargo and traditional breakbulk cargoes. The conference provides shippers with the opportunity to meet and develop relationships with the leading specialized carriers, forwarders, ports, terminals and packers who have the expertise and resources to handle oversized cargoes with unique handling requirements.



When: Wednesday, October 9, 2019 
6:00 PM - 8:00 PM 
Where: Four Seasons Hotel, Whitney Room 
* 1300 Lamar Street,  Houston, TX 77010

USRCC Members - $30 / Non-Members  -   $60
 
Please note: Refunds will not be issued after October 5, 2019

Silver Sponsor 

For sponsorship opportunities please contact:

The U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce
2900 Wilcrest Drive, Suite 133, Houston, TX 77042 
Phone:  713.429.4680  Email:  info@usrussiacc.org
USRCC Membership
 
Are you taking advantage of your  USRCC Member Benefits?

Renew your membership or join for the first time today!

For more information  click here 
Members' News
Lukoil made a profit of 330.5 billion RUB ($4.98 billion) in the 1st half of 2019

Neftegaz.ru, August 29, 2019: For the 1st 6 months of 2019, profit attributable to Lukoil shareholders was RUB 330.5 billion, up 19.6% year-on-year. Profit growth was constrained by higher DD&A charge as a result of adoption of the IFRS 16 Leases and the launch of new production facilities as well as lower non-cash foreign exchange gain. The  company´s sales increased by 7.9% year-on-year to RUB 3,976.5 billion. The growth was driven by higher sales volumes of crude oil and natural gas due to higher production volumes and higher crude oil trading volumes. The increase was also supported by the ruble devaluation resulting in higher average international prices for hydrocarbons in ruble terms despite lower prices in dollar terms.  Read more...
Turkish Airlines added Mexico City and Cancún to its network

Arabianaerospace.aero, August 28, 2019: Turkish Airlines has launched scheduled flights to Mexico City, the second biggest city of Latin America and capital of Mexico along with holiday favourite Cancún. The flights to Mexico City and Cancún, the 18th and 19th destinations of Turkish Airlines in Americas, will be operated three days a week on Istanbul-Mexico City-Cancún route starting from August 21, 2019. With these flights, Turkish Airlines adds Mexico, the biggest country of Central America, to its flight network, thus offering a connectivity opportunity to a greater area from Istanbul Airport.  Read more...
The Week in Review
Russia to start supplying gas to Turkey by end of year

112.international, August 28, 2019: Russian gas supplies to Turkey will start by late 2019. Russian leader Vladimir Putin said this at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Erdogan.  "We assume that by the end of the year, Russian gas will be supplied to Turkish consumers", he said. According to Putin, when the second line of the  Turkish Stream pipeline is built, the Russian fuel will go to Europe across the Turkish territory.  Read more...
Russia's trade turnover with African states up 17% in 2018

Tass.com, August 29, 2019: Russia's trade turnover with the African states increased by more than 17% in 2018 to $20.4 bln. A representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry told TASS that the majority of trade operations included Algeria, Egypt, Kenia, Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal, Sudan, Tunisia and South Africa. "Trade-economic and investment partnership is one of the major areas of cooperation with African countries. In 2018, trade turnover with African states increased by 17.2% compared with 2017 to $20.4 bln. Meanwhile, Russian exports amounted to $17.5 bln, while imports totaled $2.9 bln," the representative said.  Read more...
Turkey aims to boost trade with Russia to $100bn

Travelwirenews.com, August 28, 2019: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set an ambitious task to increase trade turnover between Turkey and Russia to $100 billion. That is nearly four times more than the current trade volume between the two countries. Bilateral trade already exceeds $25 billion, but that does not reflect the cooperation potential, according to Erdogan. The two countries are currently drafting an intergovernmental agreement on expanding settlements in national currencies. "It will ensure uninterrupted transaction services," said Russian President Vladimir Putin after talks with his Turkish counterpart at the International Aviation and Space Salon, MAKS 2019.  Read more...
Russia Expresses Satisfaction Cooperating With Angola - OpEd

Eurasiareview.com, August 29, 2019: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Angolan counterpart Manuel Domingos Augusto have held talks in Moscow to review and discuss economic cooperation between the two countries and ways to resolve conflicts in Africa. Lavrov and Manuel Augusto paid a special attention to trade, economic, investment and mining cooperation between Russia and Angola, as well as to business ties between the two countries' regions. In addition, they discussed preparations for the Russia - Africa Summit scheduled to take place in Sochi in October.  Read more...
India, Russia to seal nuclear pact next week

Livemint.com. August 29, 2019: Russia hopes to conclude a new pact for building six more nuclear power plants in India during next week's visit to Vladivostok by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Russian ambassador to India Nikolay Kudashev said. The trip is expected to open a "new chapter" in the "special and privileged strategic partnership," between the two countries, he said on Wednesday.  Read more...
Russia negotiating creation of low-cost airlines with Kazakhstan and Belarus

Kaztag.kz, August 27, 2019: The federal anti-monopoly service of Russia is negotiating creation of the low-cost airlines with Kazakhstan and Russia, said Igor Artemyev, head of the Russian anti-monopoly service. "It is important to develop the system of low-cost airlines. We asked our Kazakh, Belarus friends to think about creation of the carriers of this class, which might compete with our low cost airlines. It takes long time to develop it. They have not realized yet that it is very beneficial business and important for the society," he said in the interview to RIA Novosti.  Read more...
Ambitious $300mn road project launched in Central Russia

Rt.com, August 29, 2019: Authorities in Russia's Volgograd Region have launched the construction of a 12km-long (7 miles) bypass, already dubbed Russia's largest road project for the next five years. "This project is one of the largest for the next five years [and] I'm not talking merely about money, I'm talking about the scale of the project. It is easy to see: at the moment, three federal highways converge in the city, which makes it impossible to live in," Russian presidential aide Igor Levitin told reporters.  Read more...
Azerbaijan presents tourism potential in Russia

En.trend.az, August 28, 2019: Several presentations dedicated to Azerbaijan's tourism potential are being held in Russia on August 27-29,  Trendreports on Aug. 28 referring to the Azerbaijan State Tourism Agency. The Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau holds presentations in Moscow, the capital, Yekaterinburg city, and Kazan, the capital of Russia's Tatarstan republic. Three hotels, 10 Azerbaijani and about 100 Russian travel companies participate in the presentations.  Read more...
Russian Humanoid Robot Boards International Space Station-For the Benefit of Good

Observer.com, August 29, 2019: Russia has created a humanoid robot with the purpose to assist with space missions. Already this might raise a red flag in your mind. But rest assured, Russia has  finally created a bot for the benefit of good! Enter Fedor. No, literally. Enter Fedor, AKA  Skybot F-850, a life-sized, artificially intelligent, humanoid robot.  On Tuesday, an unmanned Soyuz spacecraft carrying Fedor (which stands for Final Experimental Demonstration Object Research) successfully docked at the International Space Station (ISS). Fedor didn't pilot the spacecraft but simply sat in the commander's seat. The docking followed a previous failed attempt on Saturday.  Read more...
CIS Business News
Azerbaijani business in Turkey expands

Azernews.az, August 29, 2019: The steady expansion of Azerbaijan's economic influence in Turkey is reflected in the growing number of Azerbaijani companies operating there, which consequently leads to the increasing figures for exports to Turkey and the overall trade turnover. The Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey has told Trend that in January-July 2019, 109 companies with Azerbaijani capital were registered in Turkey, which is 9 more companies than in the same period last year.  Read more...
Kazakhstan-Uzbekistan Trade Turnover Amounted to more than 5 billion dollars

Kazakh-tv.kz, August 29, 2019: Uzbekistan is a strategic partner of Kazakhstan. The partnership between the two countries is expanding in all areas. Last year, trade turnover amounted to more than US$2 billion. By 2020, the trade value is expected to reach US$5 billion. Vegetables, fruits, natural gas, lead, zinc, apparels, building materials as well as products of electrical and light industry are delivered from Tashkent to Kazakhstan. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan exports ferrous metals, wheat, flour, oil, aluminum, copper and silver to Uzbekistan.  Read more...
Belarus, Germany discuss cooperation in organic farming

Eng.belta.by, August 29, 2019: Organic farming and organic production can become a promising avenue of cooperation between regions of Belarus and Germany. This matter was on the agenda of the meeting between Grodno Oblast senior executive officials and a delegation of the German federal state of Saxony-Anhalt, BelTA has learned. The parties discussed ways to scale up cooperation between the regions. Grodno Oblast First Deputy Governor Ivan Zhuk noted that cooperation in the agricultural sector holds a lot of promise, as agriculture is one of the pillars of the regional economy. Processing of agricultural products is also well developed in Grodno Oblast. The region's food export is substantial and it is interested in new sales markets.  Read more...
US-Russia Related News in Russian
Новости недели
Трубопровод «Сила Сибири» начали заполнять природным газом

Rbc.ruб 29 августа, 2019: Природный газ начал заполнять ведущий в Китай газопровод «Сила Сибири». Об этом сообщил глава Республики Саха (Якутия) Айсен Николаев, передает телеканал Якутия 24. «Начинаются плановые мероприятия по вытеснению азота и наполнению полости газопровода «Сила Сибири» природным газом. Сегодня начинается заполнение газом газопровода «Сила Сибири», - заявил руководитель республики на первом международном Нефтегазовом форуме, начавшемся 29 августа в городе Мирном.  Читать далее...
Бразилия разрешила ввоз российской говядины

Russian.rt.com, 27 августа, 2019: В Россельхознадзоре сообщили о подписании ветеринарного сертификата, который разрешает ввоз российской говядины и говяжьих продуктов в Бразилию.  «В ходе двусторонней встречи... подписан ветеринарный сертификат на экспорт говядины и говяжьих продуктов, в сопровождении которого такие поставки из России в Бразилию могут быть начаты незамедлительно», -  сообщается на сайте Россельхознадзора. Работа по получению доступа для российской говядины и говяжьих продуктов в Бразилию началась ещё в 2015 году. Право на экспорт российской говядины получила пока лишь одна российская компания, которая была проверена бразильскими инспекторами.  Читать далее...
Проект Татарстана первым в России удостоен престижной архитектурной премии Ага Хана
Подробнее на «БИЗНЕС Online»

Business-gazeta.ru, 29 августа, 2019: Программа развития общественных пространств Татарстана стала лауреатом престижной международной архитектурной премии Ага Хана. Это первый российский проект, отмеченный организаторами за 42 года существования премии, сообщается на  сайте организации.
«В рамках этой программы на сегодняшний день было проведено благоустройство 328 общественных пространств в разных уголках Татарстана. Эта амбициозная программа направлена на противодействие тенденции по переходу земель в частную собственность путем переориентации приоритетов на качественные общественные пространства для жителей Татарстана. Программа стала образцом на всей территории Российской Федерации», - говорится в сообщении.   Читать далее...
GET INVOLVED

The USRCC is looking for new team members!

Volunteers
 play a key role and the contributions they make impact the day-to-day functions of the chamber and shape the future of the relationship between Russia and the U.S.

There are many ways you can get involved with the USRCC. Whether you are an experienced leader or a student, there is a place for you.   By  volunteering  you can be at the very center of our high-profile events held in Houston, Chicago and  New York City and interact with influential leaders in the U.S.-Russia trade and investment.
To learn more about the position  click here or contact us directly at info@usrussiacc.org   call 713.429.4680
USRCC Executive Partners














         
The U.S.-Russia Chamber of Commerce (USRCC)  is  a 501(c)(6) no t for  profit  corporation with its headquarters  in Houston, Texas,  and offices in the Midwest and the Northeast. The USRCC  was established in 2009 to promote  trade and investment  between  the  Russia n Federation  and the U.S. A.  
The information contained in this newsletter is provided for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other professional advice on any subject matter. USRCC does not accept any responsibility for any loss that may arise from reliance on information contained in this newsletter. The views and opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not reflect the opinions or views of the USRCC or its members.  Links within this newsletter lead to other websites, including those operated and maintained by third parties. The linked sites are not part of the USRCC newsletter. USRCC includes these links solely as a convenience to the newsletter subscribers, and the presence of such links does not imply a responsibility for the linked site and its operator. USRCC cannot certify the accuracy of the material provided by the original  source .