Swiss companies show growing interest in Nizhny Novgorod region

"It is very important for us to cooperate with Russian regions. The Nizhny Novgorod region is a special one for us, as we have an extensive experience in cooperation," Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Swiss Confederation to the Russian Federation, Pierre Helg, said at a work meeting with the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, Valery Shantsev.

The Swiss delegation has recently paid a visit to the Nizhny Novgorod. This was the Ambassador's second visit to the region. The meeting was devoted to the results and prospects of cooperation between the Volga region and Switzerland.

"It should be noted that companies are interested in the region as well. Liebherr Company, headquartered in Switzerland, has two factories in Nizhny Novgorod. I assume that the interest on the part of companies in the Nizhny Novgorod region will continue to grow," Pierre Helg said.

In turn, Governor Valery Shantsev pointed out the importance of such meetings.

"We are very pleased to see that bilateral relations between Switzerland and our region have recently become more active. Our economic relations develop and strengthen. We will try to do our best to create adequate conditions for business people from Switzerland," the head of the Nizhny Novgorod region said.

Investment laws of the Nizhny Novgorod region were recognized by Expert RA agency as one of the most efficient ones in Russia. Owing to the introduction of "one window" system, the time to obtain permits for investors has decreased from 2-3 years to 2-3 months. Since 2005, the volume of investments attracted annually in the Nizhny Novgorod region, has quadrupled (258.2 billion rubles as of 2012). The volume of foreign investment has had a ten-fold increase (1.114,3 million U.S. dollars as of 2012).