Vladimir Platonov re-elected as President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI)

The congress was chaired by Olga Rodionova, Chair of the MCCI Council, Founder and General Director of the Aseptica International Corporation.

In his greeting to the delegates and guests of the congress, Moscow Mayor Sergey Sobyanin noted the significant role of the Chamber in consolidating the business community and developing a dialogue between business and government.

“Our joint work on the anti-crisis agenda, the review of regulatory acts, and the development of business support measures plays an important role in maintaining high business activity in the city and ensuring the stability of the urban economy”.

Welcoming remarks at the Congress were delivered by Alexey Shaposhnikov, Chairman of the Moscow City Duma, Sergey Cheremin, Minister of the Government of Moscow, Head of the Department for External and International Relations (DEIR), Ilya Zubkov, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, Tatiana Sizova, Commissioner for the Protection of Entrepreneurs' Rights in Moscow, and Maxim Fateev, General Director of AO Expocenter.

Alexey Shaposhnikov, in particular, noted that the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry plays a special role in the life of the city and the country as a whole. According to him, it serves as an important platform for interaction between business and government, ensuring dialogue, the development of coordinated decisions, and the representation of the entrepreneurial community's interests. Thanks to systematic cooperation between the city and business, the capital's economy demonstrates resilience and maintains a high potential for growth.

Sergey Cheremin, in turn, emphasized the Chamber's significant contribution to the development of international cooperation and the promotion of Moscow-based companies in foreign markets.

According to him, our priorities in the foreign market have shifted in recent years. Today, the focus is no longer on Europe or the USA, but on the countries of the Middle East, Eurasia, and partners within the Eurasian Economic Community, the SCO, and BRICS.

Last year, Moscow residents demonstrated a very high volume of foreign economic relations, exceeding $310 billion, which accounts for approximately 45% of the foreign economic potential of the Russian Federation. According to the Minister, this figure gives a clear indication that our city retains a gigantic export potential.

“The Russian capital continues to make a significant contribution to the country's economy, accounting for nearly 20% of Russia's GDP. Moscow is one of the most advanced cities in terms of modern technologies. We are proud of how our projects are being implemented to modernize transport infrastructure and create a state-of-the-art social sector, education, and healthcare. The international community recognizes our successful implementation of digital technologies. Quite recently, Moscow received three top awards at major international exhibitions where our city presented its achievements, clearly demonstrating that the capital of Russia is rightfully considered one of the global leaders in urban development”, - said the DEIR Head.

Sergey Cheremin thanked the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry for its active work. “Over a thousand Moscow enterprises are already participating in our congresses, forums, and business missions abroad," he noted. "Despite complex logistical challenges, our business delegations continue to actively participate in negotiations and sign new contracts, demonstrating that innovative technologies are successfully developing in Moscow”, – underlined the DEIR Head.

In his welcoming speech, Ilya Zubkov, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, emphasized the significance of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the entire system of chambers of commerce and industry in the country: “Today, the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry truly holds a special place not only in the capital's life, but also for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation as a whole and the system of chambers of commerce and industry. The Moscow CCI does not just follow the agenda, it shapes it”.

Tatiana Sizova noted the systematic and substantive nature of the interaction with the Chamber, while Maxim Fateev emphasized that over the past decade, the MCCI has “truly become the capital's chamber of commerce and industry”.

Vladimir Platonov delivered the keynote address at the Congress. Everyone remembered his words: “We were created as a platform where you can come and solve any problem”.

The President of the MCCI presented the Chamber's 5-year performance report and outlined key priorities for the next term: further developing the Chamber as a platform for sustainable business-government dialogue, expanding networking among entrepreneurs, fostering international and interregional cooperation focused on new markets, strengthening expert and certification services, advancing digital business solutions, including AI-based ones, and developing educational and socially-oriented projects.

During the discussion of the report, a number of leading Moscow entrepreneurs and members of the MCCI took the floor in the debate, assessing the Chamber's activities and putting forward proposals for its future work.

Agnessa Osipova, Board Member of the MCCI, Chair of the Board of Directors of the Russian Franchise Association, and President of JSC BRPI, emphasized: “The long-term work of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry in developing entrepreneurship in the capital makes a most significant contribution to creating a favorable environment. This primarily concerns small and medium-sized businesses, and the Chamber here combines expert support, influence on legislative processes, and the development of quality networking, which allows for the creation of new products and their introduction to the market”.

Following the review of the main agenda items, the delegates approved the MCCI Program of Activities for 2026–2031, elected the Chamber's Council, Management Board, and Audit Commission, and approved the new edition of the Charter of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry Union, as well as the newly revised Regulations on the procedure for admission to membership in the Union, withdrawal, termination of membership, expulsion of members, and payment of dues.

Concluding the IX Congress, the Chair of the MCCI Council, Olga Rodionova, thanked the delegates and guests for their active participation and wished the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry, headed by Vladimir Platonov, further success.

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The MCCI was established in 1991. The Chamber is a non-governmental non-profit organization and is a part of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry system of the Russian Federation. Today, the MCCI unites over 3,500 companies from various sectors of the Moscow economy.

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Vladimir Platonov:

“You know perfectly well that political sanctions have in no way affected foreign entrepreneurs. In the worst-case scenario, they simply said goodbye, but they never actually left Russia. Business will always do what is profitable for it. Our Western partners acted in exactly the same way. There are many examples of this: the Russian-American Chamber of Commerce, the Russian-German, the Russian-Italian chambers, and so on, continue to operate successfully”

*The photos provided by Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) press service