Business programme

Through a combination of factors, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization currently plays a decisive role in economic development throughout the Eurasian space. Amidst the post-COVID recovery of the global economic system and new geopolitical challenges, it is particularly important to harmonize the approaches that this Organization’s members take in terms of economic policy, prevent imbalances in trade and investment regulation, and create additional incentives for intensifying and diversifying cooperation in all areas of the trade and economic agenda. What is the best way to effectively ensure the interests of business in SCO countries and maximize its potential as part of the Action Plan for 2021–2025 to implement the SCO Development Strategy until 2025? How can we translate the enormous geopolitical potential of the SCO into practical interaction at the level of businesses?

Moderator
Sergey Katyrin, President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Sergey Katyrin

President, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation

Born on October 2, 1954 in Moscow. Graduated from the Moscow Car and Road Construction Institute and the International Business School of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO). Took an active part in establishing and developing the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, which held its founding Congress on October 19, 1991. At the 7th congress in March 2016, he was elected President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation for a second term. The range of Sergei Katyrin's activities as President of CCI Russia includes effective coordination within the national network of chambers of commerce and industry of Russia, which incorporates territorial chambers of commerce and industry, associations and business unions. Establishment of productive cooperation with legislative assemblies and executive authorities at both national and regional levels constitutes yet another area of his daily concern. Sergei Katyrin represents Russia's Chamber of Commerce and Industry in major business unions where he is among the board members.
He is a member of the working group for joint anti-corruption measures of representatives of the business community and government authorities under the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Counteracting Corruption and takes part in meetings of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Counteracting Corruption. He sits on the government's Commission for Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses and is a member of the Public Council for Development of Small and Medium-sized Businesses, which works under the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Russian Federal Assembly. At the same time, Sergei Katyrin fulfils functions related to the international activities of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, being Chairman of the Russian chapter of the BRICS Business Council and Chairman of the Russian National Branch of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Business Council. In addition, he is a member of the Committee of the Chief Executives of CIS Chambers of Commerce and Industry. During the term of Sergei Katyrin’s presidency, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed the Anti-Corruption Charter of Russian Business.

Panellists
Rashid Alimov, Professor, Taihe Institute; Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, (2016–2018)
Alexey Vyalkin, Chairman of the Board, General Director, Expocentre
Islom Jasimov, First Deputy Chairman, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan (online)
Grigory Logvinov, Deputy Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (online)
Dmitry Murev, General Director, RZD Logistics
Sergey Storchak, Senior Banker, VEB.RF
Bakhtiyer Khakimov, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Affairs (online)

Rashid Alimov

Professor, Taihe Institute; Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, (2016–2018)

Born 23 June 1953. Ethnic Tajik.
Education:
Graduated from Tajik State University in 1975. Graduated from the Academy of Social Sciences at the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) Central Committee in 1989. Doctor of Political Sciences. Fluent in Tajik, Russian and English.
Experience:
1976-1982: Held various positions in the Central Committee of the Leninist Young Communist League (LYCL) and the Communist Party of Tajikistan (CPT);
1982-1986: Instructor and Deputy Head of the Agitprop Department of the All-Union Leninist Young Communist League (ALYCL);
1986-1991: First Secretary of the LYCL of Tajikistan and member of the ALYCL Central Committee Bureau; leading positions in the CPT Dushanbe City Committee;
1986-1994: Deputy of two convocations, Chairman of the Committee on Youth Affairs and member of the Presidium of the Supreme Council of the Tajik Soviet Socialist Republic (TSSR);
1991-1992: State Counsellor to the President of the Republic of Tajikistan;
1992-1994: Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tajikistan;
1994-2005: Permanent Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to the UN;
2005-2015: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Tajikistan to the People's Republic of China; Permanent Ambassador of the Republic of Tajikistan to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO);
SCO Secretary-General since 1 January 2016.
At the SCO summit in Ufa on 10 July 2015, Rashid Alimov was appointed SCO Secretary-General from 1 January 2016 to 31 December 2018. He holds the diplomatic rank of the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Author of 13 books and over 50 articles on international relations published in academic journals in China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Tajikistan.
Received the state orders Friendship of Nations and Sharaf, as well as medals and other awards of the Republic of Tajikistan.
Winner of the Silk Road — Humanitarian Cooperation international prize and gold medal for special contribution to humanitarian cooperation between SCO member states.
Married with two children.

Alexey Vyalkin

Chairman of the Board, General Director, Expocentre

Dmitry Murev

General Director, RZD Logistics

Sergey Storchak

Senior Banker, VEB.RF

Date of birth: June 8, 1954.
Place of birth: Olevsk, Zhitomir Region, Ukraine Soviet Socialist Republic.
Education: graduated from Moscow State Institute of International Relations in 1981.
Major: international economic relations.
Qualification: international currency and credit relations.
Degrees: PhD in Economics.
Awards and merits:
2000: Order “For Merit to the Fatherland”, II class, medal.
2006: Honorable mention by the President of the Russian Federation.
2007: Order of Friendship.
Command of foreign languages: fluent in English and French.
Background:
09.1971 – 10.1972: shipper, Krasnodar refinery.
11.1972 – 11.1974: served in the Soviet Army.
01.1975 – 08.1976: transport operator, II category, Construction Department, Glavmospromstroy’s Enterprise 207: Mosstroy 29.
09.1976 – 07.1981: studied in Moscow State Institute of International Relations.
08.1981 – 11.1988: junior research associate and senior research associate, Institute of World Economy and International Relations.
12.1988 – 02.1992: Second Secretary, USSR Permanent Mission to the UN and other international organizations, USSR Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
02.1992 – 08.1994: Second Secretary and Senior Officer, Russia’s Permanent Mission to the UN and other international organizations, Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
08.1994 – 04.1998: Deputy Head of Foreign credit and Debt Division, Head of Department, Ministry of Finance.
04.1998 – 09.2004: Deputy Chairman, Vnesheconombank of the USSR.
09.2004 – 10.2005: Director, Department of International Financial Relations, State Debt and State Financial Assets, Ministry of Finance.
2005 – 2020: Deputy Minister of Finance.

Bakhtiyer Khakimov

Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Affairs

Bakhtier Khakimov, born 1950
1974: graduated from MGIMO Moscow State Institute of International Relations of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR. He is fluent in Persian, Pushtu and English.
Bakhtier Khakimov has worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs since 1974. He has held various diplomatic positions at the central office and foreign offices.
1994: First Deputy Director of the Third Asian Department;
1994–1998: Russian Ambassador to Namibia;
1999–2002: Director of the First CIS Department, Member of the Board of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
2002–2006: Russian Ambassador to Portugal;
2006: Ambassador-at-Large.
August 2006 – January 2010: Director of the Department for ASEAN and Asian Issues.
January 2010 – September 2016: Director of the Department for Asian and Pacific Cooperation.
Since September 2016: Ambassador-at-Large of the President of the Russian Federation for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
Bakhtier Khakimov has the diplomatic rank of Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

Front row participant
Sergey Avseykov, Executive Director, Eurasian Union of Participants of Rail Freight Transportation

Sergey Avseykov

Executive Director, Eurasian Union of Participants of Rail Freight Transportation

Born on 14 February 1981.
Graduated from Tomsk State University and holds a PhD in political science from the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economics.
2011 - Head of the Marketing and Development Division of New Forwarding Company JSC, a Globaltrans subsidiary.
2017-2018 - Head of Business Project Management at "RZD" JSCo. He was a board member of several subsidiaries of the RZD group.
2018 - rejoined Globaltrans and now he oversees business development issues.
End of 2020 - became the Executive Officer of the EURP, an association established by the largest container operators in the Russian Federation.