World
Russian Chamber of Commerce Strengthens International Ties
By Kester Kenn Klomegah
The Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) said it is working very hard to continue to prioritise the interests of Russian entrepreneurs in all its dealings.
One of the ways the organisation is doing this is by strengthening its international ties.
Already, the CCI has successfully established 76 operational business councils with 76 countries. They involve representatives of the Russian business community and those from the relevant state.
These councils compile materials, including those for inter-governmental commissions. They work on specific projects that they support and on problems arising in economic ties with any specific country. This concerns customs regulations, phytosanitary control and many other questions.
“Our representatives are working in 41 countries, 10 of which are regional offices that are part of our regular operation, and the rest are our representatives emeritus who, on our behalf, protect, by proxy, our interests in a particular country; this is one of our major areas of operation as well,” the Head of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Mr Sergei Katyrin, said during a meeting with President Vladimir Putin.
CCI is an association of entrepreneurs which not only unites them and represents their interests, but also provides services, including on behalf of the state, such as issuing certificates of origin of goods, confirming the goods that are manufactured on Russian territory. The CCI has the primary task to develop a system that could be as close to entrepreneurs as possible.
“We are now represented in more than 330 cities and municipalities in Russia, this is an opportunity to get as close to businesses as possible.
“We continue to work on this system and give the entrepreneurs an opportunity to get the services as close as possible and, accordingly, to use all the opportunities that chambers of commerce and industry can provide,” Mr Katyrin further said.
Business Post reports that later this year, the chamber will hold its grand congress this year, as stipulated in its official charter, to sum up the results of what has been done over the past period, and then to make plans for the next five years as well as elect the governing bodies. In accordance with the CCI charter, the chamber holds a regular congress every five years.
Apart from representing the interests of members, the CCI is involved in law-making activity, a highly important aspect for entrepreneurs.
According to reports, there are 22 committees and 13 councils. These are public associations that involve entrepreneurs, administrators and researchers – those that work themselves and help work in the sphere of law-making. Each year, they help pass over 100 bills and provide findings on about 70 bills. There are also draft about 15 of its own bills and duly submit them to the Government and the State Duma.
“We have tried to organize this systemic work so as to collect information and requests from entrepreneurs all over the country.
“Consequently, one of our main tasks aimed to engage the entire country’s business in this law-making and regulatory work through a system of chambers and our local subsidiaries and offices,” Mr Katyrin said.
Also, CCI works closely with the International Chamber of Commerce, the World Chambers Federation, and the Euro-Chambers. It has an advisory board of Heads of Chambers of the CIS countries and the Eurasian Union. It also represents Russia’s interests in the SCO and BRICS Business Councils. This year we chaired them, just like all our departments. Our colleagues told us it was a success, but, unfortunately, we had to do this in digital format.
“We do a lot to help the regions bring in investment and support investment projects in the regions, primarily, business projects. We have broken it down into several areas of focus. First of all, we have organized and hold regular presentations of the regions at the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Almost half of our regions took part in these presentations. We invite all diplomatic missions that have trade missions, foundations, banks, and Russian and foreign companies and we present a region, while the region provides an outline of its investment projects. We also pick investment projects and present them to the industries that may be interested. We run presentations on agricultural projects, industry, and so on,” Mr Katyrin further explained.
The CCI does regularly collect and monitor feedback. It organizes a Business Barometer – an anonymous poll of entrepreneurs. It organizes four stages of the Business Barometer of the country and received feedback from entrepreneurs on the adopted measures.
Generally, the Business Barometer is used as a tool for finding out, for instance, the attitude of entrepreneurs to corruption, reveal the most corrupt areas and what they are all about, it further investigates potential investment areas and so forth. In each case, we send this information to the governors, State Duma deputies and the Government. The results are forwarded to the relevant ministries, departments and the State Duma.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
For transforming cross-border payments through its deployment with Global Money Exchange, Comviva has been named Best In-Class Cross Border Payments.
The global leader in digital transformation solutions clinched this latest accolade at the IBS Intelligence Global FinTech Innovation Award 2025.
The recognition highlights how Comviva’s mobiquity Pay is helping shape a modern cross-border payment ecosystem that stretches far beyond conventional remittance services.
Deployed as a white label Wallet Platform and launched as Global Pay Oman App, it fulfils GMEC’s dual vision—positioning itself as an innovative payment service provider while digitally extending its core money transfer business.
The solution allows GMEC to offer international money transfers alongside seamless forex ordering and other services. These capabilities sit alongside a broad suite of everyday financial services, including bill and utility payments, merchant transactions, education-related payments, and other digital conveniences — all delivered through one unified experience.
“This award is a testament to Oman’s accelerating digital transformation and our commitment to reshaping how cross-border payments serve people and businesses across the Sultanate.
“By partnering with Comviva and bringing the Global Pay Oman Super App, we have moved beyond traditional remittance services to create a truly inclusive and future-ready financial ecosystem.
“This innovation is not only enhancing convenience and transparency for our customers but is also supporting Oman’s broader vision of building a digitally empowered economy,” the Managing Director at Global Money Exchange, Subromoniyan K.S, said.
Also commenting, the chief executive of Comviva, Mr Rajesh Chandiramani, said, “Cross-border payments are becoming a daily necessity, not a niche service, particularly for migrant and trade-linked economies.
“This recognition from IBS Intelligence validates our focus on building payment platforms that combine global reach with local relevance, operational resilience and a strong user experience. The deployment with Global Money Exchange Co. demonstrates how mobiquity® Pay enables financial institutions to move beyond remittances and deliver integrated digital services at scale.”
“The deployment of mobiquity Pay for GMEC showcases how scalable, API-driven digital wallet platforms can transform cross-border payments into seamless, value-rich experiences.
“By integrating remittances, bill payments, forex services, and AI-powered engagement into a unified Super App, Comviva has reimagined customer journeys and operational agility.
“This Best-in-Class Cross-border Payments award win stands as a testament to Comviva’s excellence in enabling financial institutions to compete and grow in a digitally convergent world,” the Director for Research and Digital Properties at IBS Intelligence, Nikhil Gokhale, said.
By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh
At the end of an extensive consultation with African foreign ministers, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, has emphasized that Moscow would advance its economic engagement across Africa, admittedly outlining obstacles delaying the prompt implementation of several initiatives set forth in Strategic Action Plan (2023-2026) approved in St. Petersburg during the Russia-Africa Summit.
The second Ministerial Conference, by the Russian Foreign Ministry with support from Roscongress Foundation and the Arab Republic of Egypt, marked an important milestone towards raising bilateral investment and economic cooperation.
In Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Republic of Egypt, Lavrov read out the final resolution script, in a full-packed conference hall, and voiced strong confidence that Moscow would achieve its strategic economic goals with Africa, with support from the African Union (AU) and other Regional Economic blocs in the subsequent years. Despite the complexities posed by the Russia-Ukraine crisis, combined with geopolitical conditions inside the African continent, Moscow however reiterated its position to take serious steps in finding pragmatic prospects for mutual cooperation and improve multifaceted relations with Africa, distinctively in the different sectors: in trade, economic and investment spheres, education and culture, humanitarian and other promising areas.
The main event was the plenary session co-chaired by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Emigration, and Egyptians Abroad Bashar Abdelathi. Welcome messages from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Egyptian President Abdelhak Sisi were read.
And broadly, the meeting participants compared notes on the most pressing issues on the international and Russian-African agendas, with a focus on the full implementation of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum Action Plan for 2023-2026, approved at the second Russia-Africa Summit in St. Petersburg in 2023.
In addition, on the sidelines of the conference, Lavrov held talks with his African counterparts, and a number of bilateral documents were signed. A thematic event was held with the participation of Russian and African relevant agencies and organizations, aimed at unlocking the potential of trilateral Russia-Egypt-Africa cooperation in trade, economic, and educational spheres.
With changing times, Africa is rapidly becoming one of the key centers of a multipolar world order. It is experiencing a second awakening. Following their long-ago political independence, African countries are increasingly insisting on respect for their sovereignty and their right to independently manage their resources and destiny. Based on these conditions, it was concluded that Moscow begins an effective and comprehensive work on preparing a new three-year Cooperation and Joint Action Plan between Russia and Africa.
Moreover, these important areas of joint practical work are already detailed in the Joint Statement, which was unanimously approved and will serve as an important guideline for future work. According to reports, the Joint Statement reflects the progress of discussions on international and regional issues, as well as matters of global significance.
Following the conference, the Joint Statement adopted reflects shared approaches to addressing challenges and a mutual commitment to strengthening multifaceted cooperation with a view to ensuring high-quality preparation for the third Russia-Africa Summit in 2026.
On December 19-20, the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia-Africa Partnership Forum was held in Cairo, Egypt. It was held for the first time on the African continent, attended by heads and representatives of the foreign policy ministries of 52 African states and the executive bodies of eight regional integration associations.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Social media platform, TikTok’s Chinese owner ByteDance has signed binding agreements with United States and global investors to operate its business in America.
Half of the joint venture will be owned by a group of investors, including Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX, according to a memo sent by chief executive, Mr Shou Zi Chew.
The deal, which is set to close on January 22, 2026 would end years of efforts by the US government to force ByteDance to sell its US operations over national security concerns.
It is in line with a deal unveiled in September, when US President Donald Trump delayed the enforcement of a law that would ban the app unless it was sold.
In the memo, TikTok said the deal will enable “over 170 million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”.
Under the agreement, ByteDance will retain 19.9 per cent of the business, while Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi-based MGX will hold 15 per cent each.
Another 30.1 per cent will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors, according to the memo.
The White House previously said that Oracle, which was co-founded by President Trump’s supporter Larry Ellison, will license TikTok’s recommendation algorithm as part of the deal.
The deal comes after a series of delays.
Business Post reported in April 2024 that the administration of President Joe Biden passed a law to ban the app over national security concerns, unless it was sold.
The law was set to go into effect on January 20, 2025 but was pushed back multiple times by President Trump, while his administration worked out a deal to transfer ownership.
President Trump said in September that he had spoken on the phone to China’s President Xi Jinping, who he said had given the deal the go ahead.
The platform’s future remained unclear after the leaders met face to face in October.
The app’s fate was clouded by ongoing tensions between the two nations on trade and other matters.
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