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EXPOCENTRE Fairgrounds hosted a Changing the Quality of Life Forum of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Forum was held in hybrid format - offline and online. 

The plenary session "Changing the Quality of Life: How to Balance Social and Market Development", moderated by Sergey Katyrin, President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Elena Dybova, Vice President of the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, touched upon not only the most important business and trade issues, but also the general sentiment of our country's residents. 

As Sergey Katyrin noted at the beginning of the meeting, the concept of "quality of life" is widely discussed today, including at governmental level, as one of the fundamental priorities of social and economic development.

Experts believe that the level of quality of life is determined by a number of parameters. One of them is high life expectancy supported by a high quality of medical care. But, as the head of the Chamber stressed, medicine is only one of the factors influencing human life expectancy. Among them are also the quality of products and the range of services one receives on a daily basis. It is the prerogative of business to create and provide quality services to consumers, and to maintain the safety standards that are set and monitored by the state, stressed Sergey Katyrin, opening the plenary session. 

Experts from the Russian Public Opinion Research Center, the Department of Regional Programmes at the Expert Institute for Social Research, the Russian Public Chamber and the Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing, who highlighted priorities in public attitudes, discussed changes taking place in the country's regional life and gave concrete examples of how local authorities are working to improve quality of life.

In the second part of the session, the word was given to small and medium entrepreneurs. They spoke about how businesses in the regions can successfully produce excellent products, thereby supporting the quality of life.

The Forum's plenary session was preceded by a business breakfast hosted by Elena Dybova, Vice President of the CCI of Russia. The theme of the event, "Online and Offline: How to Adapt Business to the New Reality?", did not fail to impress representatives of major trading companies and chain shops. 

The business breakfast participants, in particular, discussed how the 2020 pandemic has affected domestic trade, which areas have suffered significant damage, and which, on the contrary, have gained new opportunities for development. In a lively discussion, it was concluded that online sales, despite their strong development, will not displace the store-based trade from the market. Not all products can or will be ordered online. But in any case, the key to successful trade is not even so much the range, but the quality of the goods and the ratio of quality to price. And there is a lot to be done here, the trade representatives summed up the discussion.

Equally interesting at the Forum was the Strategic Session "Addressing the Challenges of the Food and Processing Industry - a Contribution to Russia's Food Security".

Concluding the Forum, Sergey Katyrin, President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, thanked all participants and expressed confidence that domestic businessmen and manufacturers will be able to successfully address the challenges of 2020 in the new year of 2021. 

Press Service, EXPOCENTRE AO,
based on materials from CCI of Russia