The Russian market is one of the priority markets for the Belarusian industrial products. Therefore, the exposition of Belarus at the "INNOPROM" industrial exhibition to be held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, in July stands out in the "Belinterexpo" calendar. Could you please tell us what is special about this exhibition? How long has it been held, who are the traditional participants? What is the significance of the event?
First of all, it should be noted that "INNOPROM" in Yekaterinburg is not just a traditional exhibition, but a large-scale industrial, scientific and innovative forum, dedicated to the latest modern technologies and developments. It is a key industry event of the year both in Russia and internationally.
"INNOPROM" has been held annually since 2010. In 2012, by the decision of the Government of the Russian Federation, the exhibition was given a federal status. In 2023, the event will be held on July 10–13 at "Yekaterinburg EXPO", the region's largest modern exhibition complex.
The organizers of the "INNOPROM" exhibition are the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation and the Sverdlovsk Region Government. As a rule, the President or Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, as well as high government officials of other countries, take part in the exhibition opening and the main plenary session.
The scale of the exposition can be judged by the total exhibition area (about 50,000 square meters), the number of participants (over 600 enterprises and organizations) and the number of visitors (over 40 thousand from 50 countries).
The list of exhibitors include not only the largest Russian and foreign industrial companies and corporations, research funds and institutions, technology parks and special economic zones, ministries and departments, but also small and medium-sized enterprises. The expo provides them with an optimal platform to demonstrate and promote their products and services, seek for business partners and develop their business.
How long has Belarus been participating in this exhibition? To what extent is it of interest to Belarusian enterprises? What were the practical results of participation in previous years?
The Republic of Belarus has been participating in "INNOPROM" since 2012. Belarusian expositions at the exhibition were organized in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2018, 2021 and 2022. Over the years, dozens of Belarusian industrial enterprises, educational institutions and research organizations have taken part in the expo.
The practical results of participation are primarily evaluated by commercial contracts and other agreements on cooperation and export of industrial products, scientific and technical developments and services.
However, the effect is not limited to contracts. It is equally important that participation in the events gives exhibiting enterprises the opportunity to establish new contacts and attract new partners, present novelties and demonstrate the advantages of their products and services, assess the demand for their products, identify customer needs, conduct market research, identify promising areas of development, new markets, target groups, distribution channels, and much more.
This year, Belarus will take part in "INNOPROM" in the honorary status of a partner country. Could you tell us, what is the peculiarity of such participation? What are the criteria for choosing a partner country, and what advantages does this status give to the Belarusian exposition participants?
It will be the first time that Belarus takes part in the "INNOPROM" exhibition in such an honorary status, which is granted only to the most important strategic partners of Russia in terms of the prospects for import and export relations and the development of bilateral cooperation in the trade and economic area and in the sphere of industrial innovations.
In previous years, for example, China, India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey, Italy and Kazakhstan have been awarded this honor.
The decision on the participation of our country in 2023 as a partner country was made by the Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus after we had received such an invitation personally from the Deputy Prime Minister – Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, Denis Manturov, at "INNOPROM 2022".
The main advantages for the partner country include the largest exposition at the exhibition with an area of at least three thousand square meters; the representative delegation, which, as a rule, is headed by the Prime Minister or Deputy Prime Minister of the country; a joint industrial business forum with Russia and other business thematic events, and much more.
The partner country receives a priority location in the exhibition pavilion, extensive advertising and information support from the "INNOPROM" organizers, Russian federal and regional authorities, and increased attention from the media, which, in turn, affects the attraction of a greater number of visitors – representatives of business and government agencies.
We also plan to bring our food producers to "INNOPROM" to hold tastings of Belarusian foodstuffs and beverages at the national exposition. A large fair and sale of goods from Belarus will be organized in Yekaterinburg, a restaurant of Belarusian cuisine will give visitors the opportunity to get acquainted with a wide range of national dishes, some light industry enterprises will organize a fashion show, and performances of creative groups will add even more color to the extensive program of the events we have planned within the exhibition.
Thus, the "INNOPROM 2023" exhibition will feature a kind of a mini-"EXPO" of the Republic of Belarus, which will make it possible not only to show the industrial and innovative potential of Belarusian manufacturers and achieve specific commercial results, but also to get a significant image effect for our country, to acquaint Russian and foreign visitors of the national exposition with the deep historical and cultural traditions of the Belarusian state, to strengthen the reputation of Belarus as a reliable business partner.
What is the theme of this year's exhibition? How does the hosting party plan to surprise visitors?
The main theme of "INNOPROM 2023" is "Sustainable Production: Renewal Strategies". Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other political circumstances, economic ties and supply chains have been disrupted. These events have led to the fact that manufacturers on all continents (both large industrial giants and small enterprises) are forced to look for new formats for working with each other, ensuring uninterrupted supply and sustainability of the production processes. Moreover, many companies need to completely reformat their business approaches, to update the structure of production and partner networks, to rethink the basic principles of working in the markets.
In this context, "INNOPROM" should become an intellectual platform where business leaders and authorities will offer their solutions aimed at overcoming the unprecedented risks and threats.
The forum part of the exhibition will include more than 100 events and 350 speakers, including CEOs and representatives of global company groups, foreign and Russian enterprises. The business program comprises numerous specialized thematic plenary sessions and round tables, business meetings and negotiations, discussions, presentation sessions, master classes with Russian and foreign businessmen, experts, scientists and politicians.
Which Belarusian companies have already expressed interest in taking part in the exposition? What is planned to be presented? Exporters of what products would you definitely recommend considering participation, and for how long will it be possible to apply?
As I have already noted, Belarus will be represented in Yekaterinburg in July 2023 by a wide range of enterprises and organizations from various industries.
First of all, "INNOPROM" is a specialized industrial exhibition, its main thematic sections are mechanical engineering and machine tool building, metallurgy and metalworking, industrial equipment and components, production of materials and components, automation and robotics, information technology and digitalization of industry, energy-saving systems and additive technologies, and much more.
However, the exhibition may also be of great interest to companies from related industries, for example, for light industry enterprises – producers of upholstery and fabrics for the automotive industry, workwear and safety shoes. Timber processing enterprises can present wood and lumber, molded products and floor coverings; enterprises of the petrochemical industry – fuel materials and refined products, etc.
In fact, the list of potential Belarusian exhibiting companies already exceeds more than 100 enterprises and organizations.
At the "INNOPROM" exhibition, our country will be represented by some enterprises of the system of the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Belarus: producers of machinery, machine tools and equipment, metallurgical and metalworking enterprises, instrument making and electrical equipment producers, and many others.
A wide participation of domestic scientific and technical enterprises and educational institutions is also planned in order to demonstrate their achievements and developments at the "Intellectual Belarus" exposition. The enterprises of the "Bellesbumprom" and "Bellegprom" concerns, chemical and petrochemical industry representatives, manufacturers of food and beverages have applied for participation. Among the participants there are also private companies that do not have departmental subordination, for example, free economic zones residents. In fact, the exhibition areas of the national exposition are already almost filled up, and there are not many opportunities left for companies to take part in the exhibition.
Applications are still being accepted, but the exhibition space is limited, therefore we recommend the companies wishing to participate in the event this year to hurry up with decision making.
What are other plans for organizing exhibitions and expositions abroad for 2023? What opportunities does "Belinterexpo" offer to potential participants as an exhibition operator?
Our plans for 2023 are quite ambitious. While in 2022 we held 22 exhibitions and expositions abroad in 15 countries, there are more than 40 events in 24 countries in the "Belinterexpo" calendar for 2023.
When forming the calendar, we focused at traditional main partners – the Russian Federation and the CIS countries, as well as at existing and promising markets of the "far arc" countries – in Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
In February, we held Belarusian expositions at the largest specialized international food exhibitions, "Prodexpo" in Moscow and "Gulfood" in Dubai, as well as at Istanbul Yarn Fair. In March, an exposition was organized at the exhibition of food industry, agricultural machinery and technologies "AgriteQ" in Doha (Qatar).
Active work is underway to arrange participation in the international exhibitions "Uzfood" (March 28–30) and "Innoprom Central Asia" (April 24–26) in Tashkent (Uzbekistan), "Interfood Azerbaijan" (May 17–19) in Baku, and other events in some post-Soviet countries.
In order to support domestic producers, a number of events have been included in the Plan of National Exhibitions (Expositions) of the Republic of Belarus in Foreign Countries for 2023, approved by the Government. In addition to the "INNOPROM" exhibition in Yekaterinburg, these are International Agricultural Trade Fair in Novi Sad (Serbia, May 20–26), FIA diversified exhibition in Algeria (June 19–24), the sixth China International Import Expo in Shanghai (November 5–10) and Food Africa exhibition of food industry and agricultural machinery in Cairo (Egypt, December 12–14).
Exhibitions and expositions are planned in such "far arc" countries as Angola, Zimbabwe, Qatar, Côte d'Ivoire, Mongolia, Nigeria, UAE, Oman, Singapore, Syria, and South Korea.
Taking the opportunity, I would like to note that "Belinterexpo" is a "one stop shop" service for organizing participation in exhibitions abroad. The specialists of the enterprise are ready to give advice to any enterprise on which exhibitions and in which region should be paid attention to.
Cooperation with "Belinterexpo" will help to optimize the preparation for the presentation, as the company organizes participation in exhibitions abroad on a turnkey basis, solving the whole range of important and complex tasks: from booking the optimal venue, preparing an architectural and technical project of an exhibition stand, designing an exposition to obtaining visas, the organization of air travel, accommodation, transport support, medical insurance.
We invite all interested companies to participate in exhibitions and expositions abroad. The full calendar of "Belinterexpo" events can be found on www.belinterexpo.by.
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