Press Release

For Immediate Release
April 7, 2005
Contact: Kristi Jamison
(573)526-2423

Russian Officials Visiting Missouri Next Week to Discuss Trade Issues With State Officials

JEFFERSON CITY, MO — Top Russian officials will meet next week with business, academic and government leaders from Missouri to explore trade and investment opportunities, the Department of Economic Development announced Friday.

Nikolay Sofinskiy, Consul General of the Russian Federation, and Kirill Mihailov, Federation Consul, will hold meetings with Missouri officials in Kansas City, Jefferson City and St. Louis April 12-14. Both men are based in Houston.

Sofinskiy and Mihailov will meet April 12 with Kansas City Mayor Kay Barnes and Dr. Beverly Byers-Pevitts, President of Park University, Parkville. Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder and Secretary of State Robin Carnahan will meet the pair in Jefferson City on April 13 while financial, health care and other business leaders will meet with the Russians on April 14 in St. Louis. The diplomats will also take time to visit local Russian communities during their visit.

Consul General Sofinskiy and Consul Mihailov plan to discuss Missouri firms exporting to the Russian Federation and Russian firms investing in Missouri. In 2004, Missouri exported nearly $21 million in goods to Russia, a nation with a population of nearly 144 million and a rapidly expanding private sector with seemingly limitless natural resources.

The state’s exports to Russia have increased almost 154 percent over the last five years. In 2004, transportation equipment was Missouri’s leading export category to Russia at nearly $9 million while processed foods was second at $5 million.

The Russian Federation’s Texas consulate is responsible for economic, cultural, legal, scientific and visa affairs in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Texas. Missouri has a substantial Russian community with almost 35,000 people listing Russian as either their first or second ancestry, according to the 2000 Census.