Executive Vice-President of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia Tatiana Raguzina at Kazan University

The visit took place on April 20th.

She spoke about the Chamber's activities in front of employees and students of the Institute of International Relations, History, and Oriental Studies.

This is what she had to say, “The topic of Russian-American business relations is very important now. When geopolitics are front and center and Russian-American relations have seriously deteriorated, the only bridge between two countries is business, commercial relations. I can state with certainty that the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia makes every effort to widen and strengthen these relations, attract more American companies to Russia and Tatarstan, a region that is very appealing to investors.

We don’t feel any pressure, nobody is pushing out American companies. On the contrary, they are welcomed everywhere, invited to cooperate. Metaphorically speaking, “political bullets” are whistling over our heads. By the way, this if the third cold spell in Russian-American relations, but we are always unaffected by political matters”.

She opined that Tatarstan is one of the most active federal subjects of Russia in business relations with the USA.

”My visit to Kazan University is a logical continuation of relations between AmCham and Tatarstan. We are very tight with your Chamber of Commerce, we have good relations with the Government of Tatarstan, with the Tatarstan Investment Development Agency, with President Rustam Minnikhanov and First President Mintimer Shaimiev. It’s thanks to them that American businesses believed in your Republic and started investing here”, she added.

It’s only natural that education comes after business relations, and now it’s crucial that younger generations of both countries understand the necessity of strengthening business relations between two countries and start acting on this agenda.