CEBU should be able to make the most out of the coming of Russian officials, businessmen and journalists led by the governor of St. Petersburg for the Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibits (PRBFeX) on October 21 to 24, 2010 to explore tourism, trade and investment opportunities in the Philippines.
Russian Consul Armi Lopez Garcia is calling on Cebuanos to extend the hospitality that we are famous for worldwide for the visitors as she urged local businessmen to pre-register because only 150 seats are available.
“To be assured of seats and avoid last minute stress, they could also register online at prbai.com,” said Consul Garcia who is expected to arrive in Cebu from a weeklong visit to Russian to drum up support for the PRBFeX.
“The forum will be a great time for local businessmen to link up and do business with an expected powerhouse delegation of Russian traders and investors. The Russian journalists who will be coming with them would also be interested in doing stories about the local business environment, local products, and enterprising Cebuanos,” she said.
An optimistic Consul Garcia said the forum is expected to stimulate Philippine economic growth and “enterprising Cebuanos should be at the lead.”
Garcia, along with Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia, led the delegation with mostly top Cebuano businessmen.
The delegation of 20 businessmen included two young Gaisanos, Dr. Edward S. Gaisano and Christine Gaisano, Engr. Nestor Archival, and OPASCOR’s Atty. Tomas Riveral.
“We achieved the three objectives for the trip. We stirred participation for the 2nd Philippine Russian Business Forum and Exhibition in October 2010. Governor Garcia informed the Business sector about Cebu province. Members of the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce talked about sister chambers,” said Consul Garcia. She is the honorary consul of the Russian Federation to the Philippines.
The delegation met the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce on Sept. 22, 2010 with the perspective of forging a sister-city relationship with Cebu. During the weeklong visit around Russia, the group had meetings with Russian business groups, Philippine Ambassador Victor Garcia and the Russian media.
The delegates also met Gregory Pototsky, the famous Russian artist and sculptor who donated the bust of Leo Tolstoy and who will come to participate in the joint Philippine-Russian Art Exhibition.
