WTCGP Quarterly Briefing “Expand into Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) ”- January 25, 2008

On Friday, January 25, more than 60 people attended the seminar "Expand into Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)" organized by the World Trade Center of Greater Philadelphia (WTCGP) in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council (MARBC). The GDP of the Russian Federation expanded 7.9% in the first half of 2007, largely due to pent up demand, and imports are helping to meet this demand. Although this market of 143 million consumers presents tremendous opportunities for US exporters, Pennsylvania and New Jersey manufacturers accounted for just 4.4% of the $5.2 billion of US exports to Russia in the first nine months of 2007. To help companies discover new opportunities in this market, the WTCGP and MARBC invited an impressive group of experts to inform local companies about this market.

The WTCGP and MARBC would like to thank DLA Piperthis, event's host, and sponsors DHL, KPMG, Pennsylvania Center for Trade Development for their support.

The program was opened by Jayne Risk, partner at DLA Piper, the seminar's host and one of the presenters.	Joanna Savvides, president, WTCGP
Val Kogan, president of the Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council, greets attendees at the January 25th seminar	More than 60 people attended "Expanding into Russia and the CIS" seminar on Jnauary 25, 2008
Philip de Leon, director, Business Information Service for the Newly Independent States (BISNIS)/U.S. Foreign & Commercial Service, U.S. Department of Commerce (Washington, DC) provided an "Overview of the CIS as the Region of Burgeoning Business Opportunities."	Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the USA, Minister-Counselor Andrey P. Dolgorukov (Washington, DC) focused on trade opportunities in Russia.
Roger Munnings, president & CEO, KPMG LLP (Moscow, Russia) presented on financial aspects of doing business in Russia.	Frank Williams, president of Frank Williams And Partners Architects, LLP (New York, NY) talked about his experience of opening an architectural office in Russia with the renowned Architect Michael Posokhin and projects currently underway.
In her presentation, Jayne Risk, partner at DLA Piper, covered various legal aspects of doing business in Russia	Vincent Magnotta, manager, technology transfer, Air Products and Chemicals (Allentown, PA) shared his company's experience of technology partnering in Russia.
Robert Williams, tender and business development manager, DHL Russia (Moscow, Russia)	The seminar was moderated by Diana Melnichenko, trade development programs coordinator, WTCGP.