BRICS Special Economic Zones reach a new level of cooperation
16.05.2025
According to Nikita Kondratyev, Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the BRICS countries have about 40% of all special economic zones in the world. In today's unstable economic conditions, the interaction of territories with preferential regimes can help the countries of the alliance to ensure sustainable financial growth and increase competitiveness in the international market.<br>
By the way, today 58 special economic zones are successfully operating in Russia, with a total of more than 1300 tenants. Since the creation of the SEZ mechanism, the total revenue of all residents has amounted to about 3.6 trillion rubles.<br>
The panel session participants discussed measures to assist businesses in locating production abroad and obtaining simplified access to mutual markets, as well as outlined specific steps that will help develop mutually beneficial cooperation in the integration of BRICS SEZ tenants. These include international supply and production chains, management of territories with special and preferential regimes, as well as assessment and implementation of best practices of sustainable development in the territories of special economic zones.<br>
Nikita Kondratyev also noted that enterprises from BRICS countries show a steady interest in locating production in Russia's SEZs. They are mainly attracted by the absence of barriers when entering a new market, the prospects of reducing financial costs and fiscal burden, as well as the opportunity to implement the most daring and advanced innovative solutions.<br>
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- As early as at the first stage of the work of the BRICS Association of Special Economic Zones, we want to offer our partners the best Russian practices for the creation of advanced SEZ infrastructure. From the very first days, we will try to harmonize our approaches to the introduction of standards for the management of special zones and methodologies for assessing their efficiency, including in the area of sustainable development. In the future, we plan to establish regular interaction within the SEZ between manufacturers of original equipment and components and suppliers of raw materials to create a foundation for the implementation of their joint projects,” summarized the Director of the Department of Multilateral Economic Cooperation and Special Projects.
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Petrochemicals, electronics, agroindustry and transportation and logistics hubs were identified as pilot areas of cooperation for international SEZs. Delegations from Egypt and Iran expressed their strongest commitment to the creation of joint zones, proposing the launch of bilateral industrial parks with direct integration into trade routes, including bypassing the Suez Canal.<br>
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- International cooperation has always been a priority for the Caspian SEZ Cluster. The Astrakhan Region is a key link in the International North-South Transport Corridor. We can offer logistics opportunities and raw material base for partner countries. The location of Iranian detergent production and flour mill with investments from Turkmenistan in the SEZ Lotus became an example of successful consolidation of international preferential territories. We are also working on localizing production facilities in other countries. Thus, we have reached an agreement with the management of free trade and industrial zones “Anzali” and “Chabahar” on full assistance to the Russian side in leasing land plots on favorable terms for the implementation of Russian and joint Russian-Iranian projects, - comments Irina Bocharnikova, head of the department for work with residents of JSC SEZ Lotus.
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Photo: Association of Clusters, Technoparks and SEZs of Russia