The Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, during his official visit to the Russian Federation, held important discussions with senior Russian officials, the visit also witnessed the signing of a number of bilateral agreements between the Union and a number of Russian official organizations, which aim to maximize cooperation between Arab countries and Russia in a number of vital sectors.
Hanafi met with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and President Vladimir Putin's special representative to the Middle East and Africa, Mr. Mikhail Bogdanov, and the discussion dealt with ways to raise the level of Russian-Western cooperation in many fields, especially in the field of food security, in light of the "Corona" pandemic, which highlighted the need for the Arab world to fortify its food security, and the Russian official expressed a real and clear desire by to transfer Russian expertise in this field to the Arab world.
During the meeting, Hanafi referred to Russia's influential and pivotal role on the world level, pointing to the depth of relations that Russia holds with all Arab countries, as Russia has stood over the decades alongside the Arab world, stressing that "Russia is an important economic partner to the Arab world. Arab interests necessitate raising the level of economic cooperation with the Russian side," considering that "despite the size of the important economic relations between the Arab world and Russia, the current circumstances in light of the Corona and post-Corona pandemic require transferring the relationship from traditional cooperation based on import and export to a strategic relationship, where the Arab and Russian sides can cooperate in strategic sectors in light of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, which today is the basis of the digital economy, which has become the key to economic development.
The visit witnessed the signing of a cooperation agreement between the Federation of Arab Chambers and the Arab-Russian Business Council, allowing the union to have a representative office in Moscow. Hanafi described the agreement as very important as it helps to enhance joint cooperation.
The Secretary General of the Union, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, signed a cooperation agreement with the President of the Russian-Egyptian Business Council on the Russian side, Mikhail Orlov, aimed primarily at raising the level of cooperation in the field of food security, by establishing logistical areas in Russia, Kazakhstan and the Arab countries, in a way that helps in strengthening the value chains, supply and supply between the Arab countries and the Russian Federation, Hanafi proposed the ports of Tripoli in Lebanon and Damietta in the Arab Republic of Egypt to play a pivotal role in this field.
In addition, a cooperation agreement was signed with the Russian side in the field of research, which would achieve a qualitative leap in this field, especially since the Arab world pays great attention to this issue, while Russia has extensive experience in this regard.
Furthermore, the Secretary General of the Union of Arab Chambers, Dr. Khaled Hanafi, delivered a speech at the conference organized by the Russian Agency for Strategic Initiatives, which was held under the auspices of Russian President Vladimir Putin, under the title: “Food - Future Oil”.
The conference aimed to find strategic means of cooperation between Russia and the Arab world in the field of food security, given that food security is not only food and consumer goods, but rather an integrated chain based on supply chains by linking strategic ports with each other, in a way that would raise the level of trade and economic exchange.
Hanafi stressed in his speech that “the Arab world was able to overcome the Corona crisis in terms of food security, because most Arab countries had a surplus in the imported food stocks, but this matter is not a sustainable solution, considering that the sustainable solution is to strengthen the Arab countries' capabilities in the agricultural sector, as the Arab world, with the exception of the Arab Gulf states, possesses vast and fertile agricultural areas that require technological competence that Russia possesses, which requires concerted joint efforts to enhance cooperation in this field”.
