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U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation Honorable John J. Sullivan and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Honorable Anatoly I. Antonov Key Note Presentations and Texas – Urals Regional Virtual Trade Mission and Business Dialogue

U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation Honorable John J. Sullivan and Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Honorable Anatoly I. Antonov Key Note Presentations and Texas – Urals Regional Virtual Trade Mission and Business Dialogue

10.06.2020 by USRCC2019 in
On June 30, 2020, the USRCC in partnership with the U.S. Commercial Service hosted a webinar with the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation Honorable John J. Sullivan and the Russian Ambassador to the U.S. Honorable Anatoly I. Antonov who provided key note presentations and addressed trade related questions from about 140 webinar attendees representing US and Russian companies from oil and gas, finance, logistics and transportation, manufacturing, aerospace, and other industries. Webinar also featured Texas – Urals Regional Virtual Trade Mission and Business Dialogue, which included the following speakers: Michael Treyger, Deputy Director, Business and Community Development, Economic Development and Tourism, Office of the Governor, State of Texas; Aleksey Orlov, First Deputy Governor, Sverdlovsk Region; Andrey Panteleyev, Deputy Governor, Tyumen Oblast; Viktor Koksharov, Rector, Ural Federal University (UrFU); Paul A. Pavlou, PhD Dean, Cullen Distinguished Chair, C.T. Bauer College of Business, University of Houston; Andrey Besedin, President, Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Dmitriy Kamerlokher, Owner, the Sibeko Group; Anton Druzhinin, Director Operations, CIS, IG Metran / Emerson LLC; Svetlana Strelnikova, Executive Director, SKB-Kontur; John W. Wallace, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, DeGolyer and MacNaughton; Natasha Robarge, Vice President for Operations and Business Development,TechTrans International Inc. (TTI).
 
Speakers discussed business opportunities between the State of Texas and the Urals Region.
The USRCC and the U.S. Commercial Service joint Virtual Trade Mission and Business Dialogue (the “VTM”) is a reliable and convenient alternative to in-person trade missions. By organizing VTM, USRCC is building efficient interaction between the U.S. and Russia business communities. VTM provided USRCC members and partners with a unique opportunity for business introduction, presentations, and connections in a particular region that they may be interested in doing business. 
Honorable John J. Sullivan was nominated as the U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation by President Donald J. Trump on October 11, 2019; confirmed by the Senate on December 12, 2019; and sworn in by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on December 23, 2019. Ambassador Sullivan previously served as Deputy Secretary of State from May 24, 2017, until December 21, 2019. He served as acting Secretary of State from April 1 to April 26, 2018. 
 
Prior to joining the Department of State, Ambassador Sullivan was a partner in Mayer Brown LLP, and co-chair of the law firm’s national security practice. From 2010 to 2016, he was the Chairman of the U.S.-Iraq Business Dialogue, a governmental advisory committee on United States economic relations with Iraq. 
 
To read the full bio click here.
His Excellency Anatoly I. Antonov was appointed Ambassador of the Russian Federation to the United States of America and Permanent Observer of the Russian Federation to the Organization of American States in Washington, D.C., by the Executive Order of Vladimir Putin on August 21, 2017.
 
Previously, Ambassador Antonov served as Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister from 2016 to 2017, Deputy Defense Minister from 2011 to 2016, Director of the Department of Security and Disarmament of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs from 2014 to 2011, Ambassador-at-Large of Russia’s MFA from 2002 to 2004.
 
To read the full bio click here.
 

SPEAKERS:

JG Official Photo.jpg
Amy Storrow
MT
James Golsen
Commercial Counselor – Senior
Commercial Officer Embassy of the United States of America
in Moscow
 
To read the full bio click here.
Amy Storrow
Consul General in Yekaterinburg,
United States
 
To read the full bio click here.
Michael Treyger
Deputy Director, Business and
Community Development,
Economic Development and
Tourism, Office of the Governor,
State of Texas
 
To read the full bio click here.
Besedin
Panteleev
Orlov
Andrey Besedin
President, Ural Chamber of Commerce and Industry
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Andrey Panteleyev
Deputy Governor, 
Tyumen Oblast
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Aleksey Orlov
First Deputy Governor,
Sverdlovsk Region
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Koksharov
Druzhinin
Strelnikova
Viktor Koksharov
Rector, Ural Federal University (UrFU)
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Anton Druzhinin
Director Operations, CIS
(IG Metran / Emerson LLC)
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Svetlana Strelnikova
Executive Director, SKB-Kontur
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
Pavlou
WallaceRT
Natasha
Paul A. Pavlou
PhD Dean,
Cullen Distinguished Chair,
C.T. Bauer College of Business, 
University of Houston
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
 
John W. Wallace 
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of DeGolyer and MacNaughton
 
To read the full bio click here.
Natasha Robarge
Vice President for Operations and Business Development at TechTrans International Inc. (TTI)
 
To read the full bio click here.
 
 

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Visit of the USRCC Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee’s Chair to Tyumen

Visit of the USRCC Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee’s Chair to Tyumen

12.12.2018 by USRCC in

Artem Nadikta, Chair of the Hoston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee for the Chamber, recently traveled to Tyumen to further progress under the initiative. The Sister Cities relationship started in 1995, but USRCC was only recently charged with responsibility for its implementation. Please find below additional information, which is an excerpt from the Mayor’s Newsletter in November 2012.

During his very productive visit to Tyumen, Mr. Nadikta discussed six areas of future cooperation with Tyumen City officials including: education, entrepreneurship, municipal, regional tourism, oil and gas industry, and healthcare. The leadership of Tyumen expressed an interest in developing educational travel programs for Tyumen high school students, which would familiarize them with various industrial sectors and spur interest in science careers. Additionally, the formation of university linkages was seen as critical. The Tyumen City Administration also proposed the development of a joint project in support of entrepreneurship that will encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing between the two cities. The administration’s own efforts in support of small and mid-sized businesses led to the establishment of “Tyumen Brand” competition, which promotes high-quality and service-oriented businesses.

Lastly, collaborative programs were suggested in the areas of municipal planning and development, healthcare and oil and gas industries. Among other things, Tyumen is interested in learning from Houston’s experience in development of urban transport, infrastructure and recreational zones. The city administration hopes that cooperative conferences expos and fairs will provide a forum for open dialogue between engineers and medical professionals, which in turn will increase opportunities for future partnerships and provide exposure to different research environments.

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The 62nd Sister Cities International Conference

The 62nd Sister Cities International Conference

14.08.2018 by USRCC in

The 62nd Sister Cities International Conference

As a part of the Sister Cities of Houston Delegation, the USRCC Houston – Tyumen Sister Cities participated at the 62nd Annual Sister Cities International Conference (“SCI 2018”) that took place in Aurora, Colorado, August 2-4. 
The SCI Conference 2018 was held under the slogan “Cities Leading the Way” and was attended by more than 500 attendees from all over the world including the students who attended the Young Leadership Summit. Attendees included international delegations from Cameroon, El Salvador, Germany, Haiti, India, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Palestine, Ghana, Tanzania, The Bahamas, China, Jamaica, and South Korea.
 
SCI 2018 Summary by Mr. Harry Gee, President, Sister Cities of Houston:
 

“A large delegation led by Harry Gee, President of Sister Cities of Houston attended the Sister Cities International Conference in Aurora, Colorado last week. A major theme of the conference was the Silk Road, land route. Next year the SCI Conference will be held in Houston on July 15-17 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel with a continuation of the Silk Road, sea route theme.

Representing Houston-Tyumen Sister City Association in Aurora was Tamara Doescher, the executive director of the US-Russia Chamber of Commerce (“USRCC”).  Houston-Tyumen sister cities is a committee of the USRCC (usrussiacc.org)
 


The conference enabled the members to network and to share best practices as to how to build sister to sister relationships and practice the citizen to citizen diplomacy advocated by President Dwight Eisenhower. Also attending were delegates from around the world.  A delegation of young people who constitute the next generation met and discussed entrepreneurial and leadership topics of interest. Houston, a city with no limits will be the next host and we invite everyone who is interested in volunteering or participating to go to the web site of Sister Cities of Houston and sign up. Look forward to extending our warm southern hospitality with a western flavor to our SCI visitors next year”.

 
Congratulations to Houston Guayaquil Sister City Association on winning 
the Innovation Award for Youth and Education!

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Tyumen Oil & Gas Forum

Tyumen Oil & Gas Forum

12.06.2018 by USRCC in

In furtherance of the Houston-Tyumen sister cities collaboration, representatives of the Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities committee of the USRCC attended the Tyumen Oil and Gas Forum 2016.

Tyumen is the oil and gas capital of Russia. More than 90% of Russian gas and 65% of the country’s oil is located and produced in the region. The region’s strong economic performance, federal support, and the arrival of internationally reputed corporations have made Tyumen into Russia’s largest oil services hub.

Tyumen Oil & Gas Forum – the annual international business event with an oil and gas agenda, one of Russia’s top five industry fora. The Forum is supported by the Government of Tyumen Region, the Ministry of Energy, and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation. The forum includes more than 30 discussion panels and roundtables.

Among others, the 2016 Forum was attended by business executives from LUKOIL, Baker Hughes, Rosneft, Gazpromneft, Belorusneft, Schlumberger. The 2016 Tyumen Oil and Gas Forum overview is available here

To view the interview of the past Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee Chair at the Tyumen Oil and Gas Forum 2016 please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmXWq9AivQM

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61st Sister Cities Annual Conference

61st Sister Cities Annual Conference

11.06.2018 by USRCC in

As a part of our efforts to support Houston-Tyumen business relations, and on behalf of the USRCC Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee, the USRCC Executive Director, Tamara Doescher attended the U.S. – Russia Mayors Summit which was a part of the 61st Sister Cities Annual Conference that took place at Virginia Beach, VA on July 13- July 15 2017.

During the Summit attendees had a chance to learn about the history and critical importance of the U.S.-Russia Citizen Diplomacy, the current state of exchange programs, trade and economic relations, the role of Sister Cities, and development and future cooperation between the two countries.

Some of the presenters included: Hon. John Beyrle, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation, Hon. Will Sessoms, Mayor of Virginia Beach, VA, Ambassador John O’Keefe, Former U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation/Executive Director, Open World Leadership Center, Mary Kane, President/CEO, Sister Cities International, James Wood, City Councilman, City of Virginia Beach, VA.

During the Conference Harry Gee, President of the Sister Cities of Houston and Ellen Goldberg, Immediate Past President of the Sister Cities of Houston had a chance to make a presentation to Sister Cities International and was selected to host the 2019 conference in Houston. Since that will be the 50th anniversary of Man’s landing on the moon, we all hope to work together with Sister Cities and NASA to make it a memorable event.

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The USRCC’s Reception in Honor of the Russian Healthcare and Agricultural Delegations

The USRCC’s Reception in Honor of the Russian Healthcare and Agricultural Delegations

19.04.2018 by USRCC in

The USRCC's Reception in Honor of the Russian Healthcare and Agricultural Delegations

On February 28, 2018, the U.S.- Russia Chamber of Commerce (“USRCC”) hosted  the reception in honor of   the Russian Healthcare and Agricultural Delegations organized by t he USRCC Houston-Tyumen Sister Cities Committee. 

The USRCC was honored to welcome Russian Healthcare Delegation that participated at the International Visitor Leadership Program under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State. Full information about the participants of the Healthcare Delegation is available here .

It was also our pleasure to welcome the first-time Houston Livestock and Rodeo  participants and exhibitors from Russia. The Agricultural Delegation was led by Sergey Arkhin, P resident of Russian Regional Association of Agricultural Producers.

The Russian Healthcare Delegation included representatives from Federal Center of Neurosurgery, Novosibirsk, National Chamber of Medicine, Tyumen Region, Russian Medical Academy of Continuous Vocational Education, Irkutsk, Russian Academy of Science,  Novosibirsk.

The Delegations were greeted by  the management of the USRCC and the Consul General of the Russian Federation, Alexander Pisarev.  Harry Gee, the President of Sisters Cities of Houston extended his warm welcome and emphasized the importance of the Sister Cities relations.

The event was attended by healthcare professionals from Texas Medical Center, MD Anderson, the University of Texas School of Public Health, Spring Branch Healthcare Community Center,  Sunbelt Medical Corporation, Houston Health Concierge, Sister Cities of Houston Committee Members, representatives from the Office of the Governor, and others.

We would like to thank all the attendees, Sister Cities of Houston, as well as the USRCC volunteers for making this event a success. 

To view event photos visit our  Facebook page

Testimonial by the President of Sister Cities Houston Association, Harry Gee:

“Houston is the beneficiary of the good will create by the hospitality of the Houston Tyumen Sister City Association in welcoming the healthcare and agricultural delegation from Russia. The warm reception extended to the visitors was quite evident in the animated conversations in multiple languages heard in the St. Regis hotel. We applaud the Houston Tyumen SCA in its extension of our southern hospitality to ensure the Russian delegation of a memorable visit to our fair City”.

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