Head of Kaliningrad Foreign Investors Association
— 2006-11-24 —
In talking about Russia’s pending WTO membership, Stefano Vlahovic - Produkty Pitania President and Head of Kaliningrad’s Foreign Investors Association - is optimistic that this move will not have a major impact on his country in the short-term.
“Russia does not export a lot of industrial products. Of course there are a few industries that will benefit from WTO membership - for instance, aluminum exporters. But my business, the frozen convenience foods business, will be only slightly affected, because the Russian market is not yet saturated, and there is no need to move into the international arena. As for my colleagues in the Association of Foreign Investors, they see the US – Russian agreement on WTO membership as the culmination of ongoing negotiations over the course of many years.”
Vlahovic added that there is no real timeline for Russia to join the WTO, largely because it will take time for the U.S. Congress to ratify the joint agreement.