Over the years, the IRT has invited business leaders, political decision makers, think tanks and other stakeholders to its Conferences and Business Dialogues, where a wide range of topical business and industrial issues in EU-Russia relations are debated in general terms as well as from the perspective of specific sectors.

EU-Russia Business Dialogue
The EU and Russian IRT leaders invite key political figures and business leaders for a challenging panel discussion and exhange of ideas adressing key topics in EU-Russian Business relations during the so-called EU- Russia Business Dialogues. The Business Dialogues are held at the occassion of highlevel business summits such as the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) in 2009 and 2010.

 

IRT Conferences
 The IRT Conferences aim to enhance the dialogue between business leaders and key decision makers from Russia and the EU and foster cooperation on numerous important business and industrial subjects.
Most recently, the EU-Russia Industrialists' Round Table (IRT) 10th Annual Conference took place in Cannes on 12-13 November 2008, just before the EU-Russia Summit in Nice (14 November 2008). The Conference was dedicated to perspectives of closer EU-Russia cooperation in the context of the international financial crisis and complex official relations between the EU and Russia.

For the first time since the creation of the IRT, the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev addressed the 300 people attending the event and received the IRT recommendations. The President shared his vision for the G20 Summit in Washington (15 November 2008) ahead of his discussions with EU policy makers at the EU-Russia Summit. Making reference to the IRT recommendations, the President indicated his support for the business perspective on the potential of closer EU-Russia economic cooperation. The President advised the meeting that he would instruct the Russian Government to take into serious consideration the IRT’s recommendations.





annual conference annual conference