December 17, 2012. Governor Evgeny Kuivashev’s visit to Saint Petersburg on December 14 as head of Sverdlovsk Region delegation will be mainly dedicated to the prospects of interregional cooperation and promoting the Mid-Urals enterprises’ produce onto the North-Western markets of Russia, Governor’s PR Department reports.

According to the regional government’s Vice Premier Alexei Orlov, Sverdlovsk Region and Saint Petersburg have been doing business together for a long time, and a cooperation agreement was signed as early as 2001. However, this agreement does not seem to be working efficiently enough, which is why the two federal constituencies are interested in updating this agreement and making it actually work. At the moment, the two parties can benefit mutually from sharing their cultural and scientific experience and from cooperating in the trade and economic and social fields.

‘This is why one of the reasons we are going to the country’s other capital is to present our potential and to talk about the possible supplying of our machinery onto the vast market of the North-West of Russia,’ Alexei Orlov explained.

The Industry & Science Minister Vladislav Pinayev added that the agenda of the visit also covers a presentation of Sverdlovsk Region’s industrial potential on the premises of Saint Petersburg Chamber of Trade & Industry. The Saint Petersburg party will get acquainted with the produce of Ural Mechano-Optical plant (medical and LED equipment). Another presentation on the produce of the Ural pharmaceutical cluster’s largest enterprise, Medsintez, will be held there as well. Medsintez develops and produces insulin, whose quality is just as good as that of its foreign counterparts; besides, this company’s insulin is currently unique to Russia in terms of its properties. Also, Saint Petersburg Chamber of Trade & Industry will also house a presentation of goods by Ural Locomotives (namely, a new type of an electric train), and a discussion will be held on how this means of transportation could be used in the country’s other capital.

‘The thing is, we would like to offer Saint Petersburg the kind of product that is unique to Russia and which is, sadly, underused in the other parts of the country at the moment. We hope that this presentation will facilitate our produce’s breakthrough onto the interregional markets,’ the Minister said.

The agenda of the delegation’s visit also covers the signing of a cooperation agreement between Ural and Saint Petersburg Chambers of Trade & Industry. This agreement will help coordinate the two chambers’ activity.

Now Sverdlovsk Region and Saint Petersburg both have great economic potentials and are connected through long-time trade and economic ties. The Urals supply their ferrous metallurgical and machine-building produce to its partners along with some foods and consumer goods. Yet the growth rates of the interregional turnover volume leave a lot to be desired, as the two territories’ impressive production potential allows for more intense trade and economic cooperation.