A U.S. Department of Commerce briefing highlighting opportunities for trade and investment in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia, is scheduled to be held at the World Trade Center downtown on Thursday, Sept. 9. The Republic of Georgia also is to be featured at the event, which is to take place from 8:30-10:30 a.m.
Representatives of the Commerce Department’s Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS) will discuss strategies for successfully entering and working in these markets.
BISNIS representatives David Chantladze of Tbilisi, Georgia, a Sister City of Atlanta, Eugene Schukin of St. Petersburg, and Alex Kim of Moscow will provide overviews of their cities.
“The briefing will provide an opportunity to learn if the products of Atlanta companies would be successful in these marketplaces,” Joan Morgan, a BISNIS trade specialist who will accompany the delegation, told GlobalFax in a telephone interview from Washington, D.C. “It also will provide an on-the-ground contact for anyone who wants to go and have a look on their own.”
Ms. Morgan said that she was surprised by the extent of activities by U.S. companies she found during a recent two-week visit to Siberia ranging from a General Motors plant to a pizza restaurant. Although Russia’s economic crisis has made U.S. goods more expensive, she said opportunities abound, nevertheless.
The cost to attend is $15 per person. For more information, Ms. Morgan may be reached by E-mail at Joan_Morgan@ita.doc.gov To register, send an E-mail to Andres Villegas of the Georgia Department of Agriculture at avillega@agr.states.ga.us Individual appointments may be arranged through Lincoln Martinez of the U.S. Export Assistance Center at (404) 657-1954.