subscribe to news Maxim Fateev held meeting of CCI RF Committee in Kazan

A visiting meeting of the Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry took place at Kazan Expo within the TEMP Forum. The agenda was devoted to robotics and the use of AI in the exhibition and congress sector.

The day before, Maxim Fateev, Chair at the Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and General Director at EXPOCENTRE AO, attended the TEMP Forum, which presents advanced solutions in metalworking, robotics, additive manufacturing, and automation of production processes.

Opening the meeting, Maxim Fateev stressed that digital technologies already cover most of the processes at exhibition companies, from registration and navigation to document management and data protection.

He called for evaluating digitalization through the prism of real efficiency, reminding that “digitalization for the sake of digitalization itself will never justify the costs” and “it must work for sustainable business development.” He spoke of the need to correlate investments in AI with actual returns, citing research showing that only a small proportion of companies achieve real integration of neural networks into production.

According to him, the industry does not need stand-alone services, but platform ecosystems that strengthen the brands of exhibitions and create value for exhibitors and professional visitors.

Maxim Fateev noted that EXPOCENTRE is also consistently implementing digital solutions. The updated Personal Account service is available for all exhibitors, where they can order services in a single window mode, track the status of applications, and receive documents. It is complemented by a chatbot in Telegram, which was successfully used at the Agroprodmash exhibition. It helped to navigate the display and the conference programme, exchange contacts, and make appointments. This experience makes participation in exhibitions more convenient and increases trust in the organiser.

The Committee’s chair cited international examples of digital innovations at exhibitions, and also stated that “we need not only to share our experience, but also to create a system for popularizing our own digital achievements for congresses and exhibitions in Russia in order to maintain best practices.” Maxim Fateev noted that one of the objectives of the roadmap for the development of the industry is to create an award for experts in the exhibition and congress sector. He proposed to take the initiative to the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade on a new nomination for achievements in the field of digital services for exhibitions and congresses.

Shamil Ageev, Chair at the Union of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech. 

The meeting was attended by representatives of relevant departments, industry associations and platforms: Taliya Minullina, Head of the Investment Development Agency of the Republic of Tatarstan, Marat Akhmatov, Deputy Chair at the Union of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Republic of Tatarstan, General Director at TATEXPO OOO, member of the Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Ildar Nuriev, Director at TATPROMSTAN OOO, Elena Ublieva, Executive Director at the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs, Member of the Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Oxana Dutova, Vice President at the Association for Global Development of AI and Robotics, General Director at the Center for Technological Development, Igor Astafyev, First Deputy General Director at Kazan Expo ANO, member of the Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Valery Kardashov, Chair at the Expert Council of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Digitalization and Development of AI Projects, President at the Association for Global Development of AI and Robotics, Slava Khodko, Adviser to the Roscongress Foundation, Head of the Convention and Exhibition Alliance of the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, member of the Committee of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alexey Chuvaev, Deputy General Director at VNITS RnS, and Filipp Muzhetsky, Director at the New Reality Immersive Communications Agency, Head of the Working Group on End-to-end Digital Technologies of the Council of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Financial, Industrial and Investment Policy.

The panelists spoke about the industry's development strategy until 2030 that sets the task of developing infrastructure and creating attractive conditions for investors to the Russian regions. The methodological recommendations adopted this year by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade are designed to help the subjects of the Russian Federation to build a systematic work in this area.

Maxim Fateev, as Chair at the Committee on Exhibition, Fair and Congress Activities of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, announced the next meeting in Moscow on 23 October 2025 in the format of pre-congress readings: a request for proposals for the strategic period up to 2030 on digitalization, personnel agenda and infrastructure will be sent to the Committee members.

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO