Austrian-Russian Business Council held its 12th meeting in Moscow last Monday. Dmitry Azarov, Samara Region Governor, speaking at the meeting noted stable and lasting relations between Samara Region and Austria and the prospects of their further development in economy and education.
Samara Region is among Russia’s top 10 most advanced regions with its high degrees of urbanization (80%) and foreign trade (15% of the regional GDP). Since it is part of the international transport corridor, it is also successfully developing as a major logistics hub. To advance a space and aviation cluster in the region, authorities set up engineering centers there. VAZ, Lada cars manufacturer (with a 25% share of the Russian car market) in the city of Togliatti, will have the first Russian-made smart car driving along the first smart road there. Togliatti, according to the Governor, is one of the most attractive national investment sites where importы of equipment and exportы of manufactured goods are not taxed while profit tax is set at 2% (instead or the standard 20%).
Finally, Dmitry Azarov invited Austrian-Russian Business Council to have its 2021 meeting in Samara.