Roscongress Direct

2021-05-14 10:14:08 On This Day: May 14

1796 - English physician Edward Jenner administers the first inoculation against smallpox

1842 - Illustrated London News; the world's first illustrated weekly newspaper, begins publication

1908 - 1st passenger flight in an airplane

1925 - the Virginia Woolf novel “Mrs Dalloway” was first published in England and the United States

2008 - the Interior Department declared the polar bear a threatened species because of the loss of Arctic sea ice.

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2021-05-13 19:33:14 The Petruzelli Theater Orchestra to perform at the Palace Square as part of the SPIEF 2021 cultural programme

The Italian region of Puglia is the guest of honor at SPIEF. And the orchestra's performance on a forum of this scale is a perfect chance for the musicians to get back into the creative routine.
"Getting back to normal activities is absolutely necessary, and participation in an event like this provides that opportunity," said Oronzo Moraglia, secretary general of the Federation of Information, Entertainment and Telecommunications (FISTEL).

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2021-05-13 17:39:44 Today, in joint section with Eurasian Economic Commission, we will talk about EAEU trade agreements with third countries.

All EAEU trade agreements can be divided into two types:

preferential agreements
Among other things, they ensure the goods transfer under reduced import customs duties or, if not charged, to provide a background for increasing export from the EEU countries.

non-preferential agreements
They do not imply the abolition or reduction of duties, are needed to remove non-tariff barriers and to cooperate in various fields.

Preferential Agreements

The first free trade zone with Vietnam has been successfully operating since the end of 2016. Just a year after the agreement came into force, trade turnover between EAEU countries and Vietnam increased by 36.7%. In 2020, trade with Vietnam increased by 11.7% compared to 2019 and amounted to $6.25 billion, while export increased by almost 30%.

A temporary agreement that leads to establishing a free trade zone with Iran came into force in October 2019. In 2020, the volume of mutual trade amounted to $2.9 billion and showed a growth of 18.5%, with export amounting to $1.65 billion.

In October 2019, free trade agreements with Serbia and Singapore were signed. The agreement with Serbia is ratified by now and is expected to become operational in the summer of 2021. Negotiations continue with Singapore on agreements on free trade in services and investment (between EAEU countries and Singapore), which will form a single "package" with the commodity agreement.

Free trade agreements are being negotiated with Egypt, Israel, India and Iran.

Prospects for concluding free trade agreements with new partners - Indonesia and Mongolia - are being studied. The results are to be presented by the end of 2021.

Non-preferential Agreements

The agreement on trade and economic cooperation with China came into force in the fall of 2019. The agreement covers many areas: technical regulation, customs formalities, competition, and e-commerce. In fact, this is the first step toward creating substantive agreements on the development of trade and economic cooperation between the EAEU and China.

More about EEU trade agreements here.

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2021-05-13 15:33:27 The Republic of Maldives becomes the 65th state to register Russia's Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine

By far, Sputnik V has been registered in 65 countries with a total population of over 3.2 billion people.

“Sputnik V is used by dozens of countries and has already become one of the recognized global vaccines to fight the pandemic. The Maldive Islands are one of the most popular tourist destinations and protecting the population with Sputnik V will help maintain a normal life and economic activity while avoiding serious coronavirus restrictions in the future” — Kirill Dmitriev, CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund.

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2021-05-13 14:18:45 News of the World: May 13

UN Security Council may meet on Palestinian-Israeli confrontation on May 14. China, Tunisia, and Norway have requested an open meeting on Friday. The decision will be made in the near future by the Chairman of the Security Council, this month it is China.

China has joined Russia to construct the Snowflake International Arctic Station. Among other things, Beijing will supply equipment. Earlier, South Korea joined the project. More about the station here.

Slovakia will include Russia's Sputnik V in the list of vaccines that are in use in the country in early June.

USA is the top buyer of Russian ice cream.
The first quarter of 2021 witnessed the increase of Russian ice cream export by 13% to 5.6 thousand tons.

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2021-05-13 13:03:21 Networking, panel sessions, and education will all come together at the International Youth Economic Forum, which will be held as part of SPIEF 2021

Young businessmen are invited to participate in more than 20 events, including business and networking sessions and a mentor lounge. This is probably the best way to find new and useful contacts.

The expert part of the Forum will be fully devoted to entrepreneurship. Topics include:

green economy;
virtual international export centers;
intellectual property;
high technology;
tourism;
inclusive start-ups, etc.

The Youth Forum participants will also have a unique chance to present their projects to experienced mentors and get practical advice on further business development. Please find more information on the website.

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2021-05-13 10:44:20 Eid Mubarak! We congratulate all Muslims on the holy holiday of Uraza Bayram!

"The holy month of Ramadan is over, and Russian Muslims are joyfully welcoming the bright, long-awaited holiday. At all times, Uraza Bayram is celebrated with good deeds and care for the needy, it represents the aspiration of people to self-improvement," — Vladimir Putin.

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2021-05-13 10:31:56 Day of the Black Sea Fleet

"In the North, you have multiplied the fleet, and here you have created it out of nothing... Mother, love your fleet as your child, the Black Sea Fleet will serve the Fatherland diligently!"
(His Serene Highness Prince G.A. Potemkin-Tavrichesky, founder of the Black Sea Fleet, in a letter to Catherine II). Open / Comment

2021-05-13 09:42:44 On This Day: May 13

Day of the Black Sea Fleet in Russia. The Black Sea Fleet was founded by Prince Potemkin on May 13, 1783, together with its principal base, the city of Sevastopol.

1767 - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's first opera "Apollo et Hyacinthus", written when he was 11 years old, premieres in Salzburg.

1836 - The construction of the first railroad in the Russian Empire began. It ran for 27 km from St. Petersburg to Pavlovsk through the nearby Tsarskoye Selo.

1950 - First ever race of the Formula 1 World Drivers Championship is run at Silverstone, England and won by Giuseppe Farina of italy in an Alfa Romeo.

1989 - Approx 2,000 students begin hunger strike in Tiananmen Square, China

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2021-05-12 20:03:25 St. Petersburg relies heavily on SPIEF's contribution to tourism development

Last year, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, St. Petersburg lost ¾ of the 2019's record-breaking tourist flow. The industry is only beginning to gradually recover, says Governor Alexander Beglov. The city is looking especially towards the UEFA Euro-2020 games and the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Past experience suggests that the city's hotels and restaurants will be fully booked during the Forum, so it's better arrange all the bookings in advance. Then again, it's the time of famous White nights…

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