Penza, 20 April 2021. PenzaNews. Acting Governor of the Penza Region Oleg Melnichenko held a working meeting with a delegation of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Russia (BLCC Russia), which paid an official visit to Penza.

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Welcoming the guests, he noted the importance of developing trade and economic relations as well as direct contacts between regions of different countries.

Oleg Melnichenko said that currently 36 investment projects are being implemented in the Penza region.

“We plan to implement 12 new significant investment projects in 2021. We intend to attract investors to create joint ventures and companies in such areas as agriculture, processing and logistics, developing of transport infrastructure and food industry. In particular, the business has plan to create a beer production line. [...] The Union of Penza Confectioners cluster is interesting; first of all there is an interest in organizing a joint production of chocolate,” the head of the region said.

He drew attention to the favorable location of the region – to the relative proximity to Moscow and such large cities as Samara, Ulyanovsk, Kazan and Nizhny Novgorod.

“We can be regarded as a kind of logistics hub with a large number of people living within a 1000-kilometer zone,” Oleg Melnichenko noted.

According to him, the Penza region is ready to consider various options for investment agreements.

In turn, Oleg Prozorov, Director General of the Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce in Russia, thanked the Acting Governor for the warm welcome.

“The Belgian-Luxembourg Chamber has come to the region with a delegation for the first time. We arrived yesterday and saw a dynamically developing region. [...] We also saw a huge cultural and tourism potential, of course. Today we switched to the economic part, visited two enterprises,” he said.

Oleg Prozorov added that today in Russia there are more than 80 enterprises owned by Belgian and Luxembourgish companies.

“Investments continue. Basically, of course, these are investments in those companies that are already present on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he specified.

The head of the Chamber of Commerce noted with regret that restrictions due to COVID-19 did not allow business representatives from Belgium and Luxembourg to be part of the delegation.

At the same time, he expressed the hope that Belgian companies will be able to take part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

“We will also be happy to welcome a delegation from the Penza region [with a return visit],” Oleg Prozorov said, stressing that cooperation is considered as a priority for the partnership.

In continuation of the working meeting, the customs attaché of the Belgian Embassy in Russia, Emmanuel Geronnez addressed Oleg Melnichenko.

According to him, it was important for the delegation members to get acquainted with the region, assess its potential and communicate with people.

This idea was also supported by the trade attaché of the Walloon region of Belgium Gerard Seghers, who noted that it is necessary to understand the life in other parts of the country, not only in Moscow.

“We see that the region is developing,” he said.