The President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia Tamila Mertskhulava held a meeting with entrepreneurs  from the Republic of Bashkortostan in the conference hall of the chamber on February 12, 2019. The Bashkir delegation was headed by the chairman of the Bashkir regional branch of the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Business "Opora Rossii", part-time representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia to the Republic of Bashkortostan - Lyaysan Nikolaeva.

The arrival of guests was held in conjunction with the participation of the delegation from Bashkortostan in the Russian Investment Forum, which will be held in Sochi from February 14 to 15, 2019.

The delegation included 25 representatives and heads of economic entities from various fields of activity, including the “ISTRA” Education Center, restaurant business and catering, a modeling agency, a security holding, an assessment bureau, etc. The meeting was held in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Tamila Mertskhulava, having greeted the delegation, expressed readiness for fruitful cooperation and increasing contacts with business circles of Bashkiria.

She noted that the friendly relations between Abkhazia and Bashkortostan had been formed quite a long time ago and the people of Bashkiria always treat the people of our republic with warm and open heart.

- The Republic of Bashkortostan has always been and will be a friendly republic. It was one of the first to lend a fraternal helping hand to us during the 1992-1993 Patriotic War of the people of Abkhazia. It provided humanitarian aid in the postwar period, when Abkhazia was going through a rough time”, - emphasized Tamila Mertskhulava.

She also reminded that more than 100 specialists - doctors, scientists, diplomats, artists, including the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Abkhazia and the Minister of Culture graduated from Bashkir universities and currently are working for the benefit of our state.

Bashkir entrepreneurs expressed their gratitude to the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the warm welcome and stressed that they arrived to Abkhazia to familiarize themselves with the general economic potential of our republic and its sectors on the spot. At the same time, the guests showed particular interest in the tourism and agricultural spheres, intergovernmental agreements between the Republic of Abkhazia and Russian Federation on the “Trade regime” and the main activities of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Abkhazia.

At the meeting, which was held with the participation of the Head of Expertise and Evaluation Department-Maya Ajba, Head of Tourism Department-Inara Daurova, Head of External Relations and Investments Department-Kama Tsvizhba, guests were invited to organize a business mission to Abkhazia for Bashkir entrepreneurs to familiarize them with the economic and investment potential of the Republic of Abkhazia, undertake the market analyses for the export / import of goods, manufactured in Abkhazia and expansion of contacts between entrepreneurs of the two republics.

Annually a significant number of tourist groups come to visit Abkhazia and in order to advance tourism development- the Abkhaz side suggested to consider the invitation for Bashkortostan’s tour operators to visit Abkhazia to maximally inform them about the activities of this sphere, show our tourist facilities etc.

During the conversation, the question was raised about opening the Trading House “Goods from Bashkiria” in Abkhazia, which would provide an opportunity to properly analyze the market for further export / import and organize an exhibition of both Abkhaz products in the Republic of Bashkortostan and vice versa.

In conclusion, the guests thanked the CCI leadership for the reception and expressed their willingness to cooperate with the business community of Abkhazia in different directions.

For reference: The Presidents of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Bashkortostan signed a friendship agreement in 1994. Economic relations development agenda for 2010-2011 was signed at the governmental level in 2009. The agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Abkhazia and the Republic of Bashkortostan was signed on November 25, 2002. Yhe CCI of RA signed a cooperation agreement with the Bashkir regional branch of the all-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Business “Opora Rossii” in 2013.

In March 2014, at the invitation of the President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Bashkortostan and the leaders of the public organization “Opora Rossii”, the Abkhaz delegation paid a business visit to the capital of Bashkortostan-Ufa, where a number of meetings were held with representatives of the Government of the Republic of Bashkortostan and colleagues from the chamber.

A positive aspect in the development of Abkhaz-Bashkir relations is the mutual desire of the parties to expand the established cooperation.

Some numbers: the RA’s turnover with Bashkortostan for 2017 (import) amounted to 1,151,805, $ 63, for 2018 (import) - 2,869,842, 09 $. Clothes, shoes, hats, mineral fuels, oil and distillates, bituminous substances, mineral waxes, etc. are imported from Bashkortostan to Abkhazia.