A heavy engineering committee was set up within the framework of Russia’s Machine-Builders Union. The committee’s first meeting was attended by representatives of twenty Russian companies and resulted in appointing General Director of Uralmash Machine-Building Corporation Nazim Efendiev the committee’s chairman, the spokesperson for Russia’s Machine-Builders Union.

The re-introduction of the committee is aimed at coming up with a united policy of heavy engineering development and at uniting the enterprises’ efforts in order to draw up the governmental heavy engineering development program for 2020.

‘We need a state program for the revival of Russia’s heavy engineering industry right now. If we fall behind with this program, the backbone of our economy is bound to start stagnating. Our raw resources will be processed using foreign rather than Russian equipment, which means we’ll lose our economic sovereignty and put our independent foreign policy in jeopardy,’ Nazim Efendiev said.

The committee members spoke about the ways of protecting Russian manufacturers; they feel measures must be taken at the state level and should include introduction of insurance companies and compensation of interest payments on credits taken to pay for Russian machinery. Then, in case a foreign company signs an agreement with some Russian consumers, part of the orders should be placed with the Russian manufacturers.

Finally, the committee members were presented with reports on the industry’s prospective development strategies in 2008-2020.