Public Remarks
Remarks at the Moscow International Business Association Awards Ceremony
William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia
Moscow Mayor's Ofice, Moscow, Russia, September 14, 2007
It's an honor to be with you. If there is one thing that I have learned over the years as an Ambassador, it's that if you are on a panel with this many distinguished guests, it's a good idea to be brief. Very brief. So I'll do my my best and just make three points.
First, let me express my thanks to Yuriy Mikhailovich and the Moscow International Business Association for organizing this event, and my admiration for your remarkable achievements in this great city over the last ten years. Let me also express my admiration for IBM, Proctor and Gamble, Pepsi and the other international firms being recognized for their contributions to Moscow's growth today. Your success is obviously recognized in your corporate bottom line, where many of you working in Moscow today represent the fastest growing parts of huge global enterprises. But it's also reflected in the positive impact you have every day in Moscow, and throughout Russia; in building an understanding of what we and Russia have to gain by working together; in displaying the best in American innovation, entrepreneurship and business practices; in accelerating Russia's integration in the world economy; and in partnering with Russians to show the world all that this city, and this country, have to offer. IBM's well-deserved award symbolizes in particular not just the strength of America's high-tech industry, but the fertile soil they have found in Russia's highly educated and technically skilled people. As Russia looks to diversify its economy in coming years, this is an area of real promise.
Second, as all of you know as well as I do, this is a moment of great economic opportunity in Moscow and across Russia. This country's trillion dollar economy has become the tenth largest in the world. Foreign direct investment is soaring. A middle class is emerging. Retail markets are expanding as fast as anyplace in the world. All of this was simply unimaginable a decade ago when I last lived in Moscow. Many Russians deserve credit for those achievements, but none more than Yuriy Mikhailovich and the Russian businessmen here today.
Third, the role of American business in helping Russia to realize its economic potential is growing. Our bilateral WTO agreement last year was the biggest single step forward in our economic relationship in the past decade. It helps set the stage for successful completion of Russia's multilateral accession talks, which is something that the United States strongly supports. American investment in Russian increased by nearly 50% last year. Our economic relationship is rapidly becoming a genuine two-way street, with the doors open in the United States to increased Russian investment, and opportunities in Moscow and beyond multiplying for American companies.
Finally, America's contribution as Russia diversifies its economy is only going to get bigger. The biggest economic challenge before Russia is what it will do with the moment of opportunity which lies before it. What it will do not just with its immense natural resources, but with its greatest resource, its people. Success is by no means automatic. It will require hard choices about everything from the infrastructure challenges that inhibit economic growth, to bringing clarity and predictability to the rules of the road for foreign as well as domestic capital, to the need to aggressively rebuild the education and health care systems so critical to realizing the promise of Russia's enormously talented people.
Much more remains to be done, and much more is possible. I know that I don't need to convince any of you of those possibilities, and I look forward to continuing to work with all of you to help make those possibilities a reality. And I also look forward to the day when more American mayors will be hosting more events like this one, to thank Russian investors for their contribution to my country's economic growth.