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The First Central Asian International Economic Forum Concluded in Dushanbe

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

On July 22, 2025, the first Central Asian International Economic Forum ended in Dushanbe, becoming the final event of the International Expedition "Journey to the Heart of Eurasia". It started in Moscow on June 6 and lasted almost two months. In 51 days, the Expedition participants made a motor rally with a total length of more than 8 thousand km and held about 160 business and educational events in 27 cities of Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.

In his address to the forum participants, Russian Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov noted the high economic potential of Central Asia: according to EDB forecasts, in 2025, the GDP growth of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan will significantly exceed the global average.

"Today, Central Asia is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, forming a new center of economic growth in the Eurasian space. Russia has traditionally been a leading trading partner for the entire region. According to the results of 2024, Russia's trade turnover with the countries of Central Asia amounted to almost 20% of the total trade turnover of Central Asia with all external partners. The basis of joint economic growth is the active interaction of the regions of our countries," the statement says.

The Forum's business program included thematic sessions on humanitarian ties, tourism, women's entrepreneurship, free economic zones, digitalization, logistics, ecology and international cooperation.

"Russia is ready to share experience and expand cooperation in the areas of e-commerce, digitalization, artificial intelligence and creative economy. I am confident that both the Expedition and the Forum itself will become annual and will help open new horizons for strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation," Maxim Reshetnikov emphasized.

Following the Forum, a number of cooperation agreements were signed. The event brought together more than 500 participants from Russia and Central Asian countries: representatives of government bodies, public structures, business circles, expert communities, as well as international organizations and integration associations.

The forum was organized by the Russian-Tajik Business Council and the ANO International Center for Regional Initiatives with the support of the Roscongress Foundation, the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation and the Tajik side. The general partners were RVB (Wildberries

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For the first half of 2025, the volume of support under the preferential leasing program amounted to 181 million rubles

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

The Ministry of Economic Development of Russia has summed up the results of the implementation of the program of preferential equipment leasing for small and medium-sized companies for the first half of 2025. The amount of support exceeded 180 million rubles, and the tool itself is in demand in industrially active regions.

Preferential leasing plays an important role in the development of the small and medium-sized business sector, providing companies with access to modern equipment without the need for large one-time investments. This is especially important for manufacturing enterprises that need to update equipment to improve competitiveness, expand capacity and enter new markets. Support through leasing reduces the financial burden, accelerates modernization processes and stimulates business growth in the regions.

"In the first half of 2025, 16 companies took advantage of the preferential leasing program, the amount of support was 181 million rubles. The average transaction bill was 11.3 million rubles. Geographically, the main activity is concentrated in the Nizhny Novgorod Region, St. Petersburg and Moscow, the Chelyabinsk Region, and the Republic of Bashkortostan. This indicates the demand for the instrument in industrially active regions of the country," said Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Tatyana Ilyushnikova.

The largest number of companies that took advantage of preferential leasing were from the mechanical engineering and metalworking industries – they made up 58% of all recipients. A significant share was occupied by enterprises of the chemical industry (17%) and the food industry (14%).

Among the purchased equipment, the most popular were: metalworking equipment and machines – 38% of the total number of leased items, equipment for processing polymers and chemical raw materials – 31%, gas piston units – 14%, woodworking equipment – 11%.

Since August 2023, a separate preferential leasing program has been in effect for small and medium-sized businesses in the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions. It promotes the development of the industrial sector in new regions, helps modernize production and provides an incentive for the development of entrepreneurship. The operator of the program is the Republican Leasing Company of the Donetsk Republic (GUP DPR "RLK"), which was financed from the federal budget in the amount of 300 million rubles in 2023 and 2024 and provided for in regulations so that preferential leasing would be available to entrepreneurs from all four regions. The main conditions of the program: long-term lease of equipment/property at a preferential rate of 6% per annum for Russian equipment, 8% for foreign equipment, the amount of the advance payment is 20-50%, the leasing term is up to 5 years, the industries are food production, manufacturing, agriculture, etc.

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Mikhail Mishustin to visit Gorno-Altaisk on July 23–28

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

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The Prime Minister will take part in the events of the International Environmental Conference. Participation of government delegations from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan is expected.

Mikhail Mishustin's schedule also includes a tour of the emergency room of the Republican Hospital and conversations with the head of the Altai Republic Andrei Turchak and the governor of the Altai Territory Viktor Tomenko.

Deputy Prime Ministers Dmitry Grigorenko, Alexey Overchuk, Marat Khusnullin, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Alexander Kozlov, and Minister of Health Mikhail Murashko will take part in the events of the trip.

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From October 1, 2026, official regulation of the activities of platforms will be introduced in Russia

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

The State Duma deputies unanimously adopted in the second and third, final readings the draft law "On Certain Issues of Regulating the Platform Economy in the Russian Federation", as well as a package of amendments to industry legislation necessary in connection with the new regulation. The draft federal law was developed on the instructions of the Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation Mikhail Mishustin and under the supervision of the Deputy Chairman – Chief of Staff of the Government of the Russian Federation Dmitry Grigorenko. The new rules will come into force on October 1, 2026.

"The bill was developed in cooperation with the industry, discussions took place at all key venues. As a result of such careful development, the document retained its concept following consideration in the State Duma. At the same time, a number of provisions were clarified, which made the bill even more targeted. Its task is to protect the rights of sellers and buyers, provide guarantees to market participants and promote further stable development of the platform economy in Russia," commented Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Staff of the Government Dmitry Grigorenko on the results of consideration of the draft law.

One of the key amendments that emerged during the consideration of the bills in the State Duma concerned the timing of the entry into force of the new regulation. Now, the extension of the adopted norms to the activities of intermediary digital platforms is expected from October 1, 2026. This innovation was also agreed upon with the largest market players. According to the Minister of Economic Development of Russia Maxim Reshetnikov, this is explained by the need for the earliest possible implementation of new legal mechanisms.

"When preparing the bill on the platform economy and discussing it in committees, proposals were received from the deputy corps to postpone the entry into force of the law to an earlier date, to 2026. In the course of work, this proposal was discussed with the platforms themselves. The logic of postponing the deadline is that the norms provided for by the bill, those security guarantees for consumers, businesses and the platforms themselves, begin to work as soon as possible, since these legal mechanisms are long overdue. During the discussion, these proposals were supported. Thus, one of the key amendments to the second reading of the bill was the postponement of the date of its entry into force – from March 1, 2027 to October 1, 2026. This, in turn, means that digital platforms will more quickly start fine-tuning their own systems to bring them into compliance with the law," commented Maxim Reshetnikov.

Deputies, the State Duma's specialized committees on economic policy and industry and trade made a major contribution to finalizing the bill, the minister noted. For example, based on comments from deputies, the requirements for posting product cards subject to mandatory confirmation of conformity (certification, declaration of conformity, state registration) have been supplemented. In particular, the platform operator will not have to allow the publication of a product card subject to state registration if the seller has not posted a link to the certificate of state registration of the product. This provision supplemented similar requirements for products subject to mandatory certification and declaration of conformity, which were already spelled out in the draft law for the first reading.

A separate innovation touched upon the need to provide technical functionality for placing information on the product card about the possibility of purchasing goods, works, services using an electronic certificate – one of the ways to receive state support. With the help of such a certificate, you can purchase a technical rehabilitation device.

"When working on the amendments for the second reading, we proceeded from the fact that all interests of market participants were balanced as much as possible. This concerns issues of intellectual property, and verification of labeling certificates, and control of partners by platforms, and the accessibility of platform solutions for people with disabilities and the acquisition of technical equipment through certificates. We sought to ensure that all these standards were clearly spelled out, and the mechanisms were recorded. Finally, the key thing that colleagues drew attention to is that the bill will come into force on October 1, 2026," emphasized Maxim Topilin, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Economic Policy.

At the same time, the Minister specifically noted that with the adoption of the bill, work with the industry and relevant government bodies will continue on a number of issues. By the date of entry into force of the law, it is planned to adopt a number of by-laws. This concerns the rules for maintaining and forming a register of intermediary digital platforms, determining the criteria for their economic significance and the composition of information that will be included in the register, the procedure for inclusion, amendments and exclusion from it. A number of acts will be related to detailing the norms established in the law. This will also concern the data of partners who will check the platforms, the procedure for checking information in product cards by platform operators.

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Tatyana Golikova held a meeting of the Presidential Commission on Veterans Affairs

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova held a regular meeting of the Commission under the President of the Russian Federation on Veterans' Affairs. The members of the commission discussed the measures taken to facilitate the employment of veterans of the special military operation, their professional training and additional professional education in in-demand professions.

"The issue of employment of SVO participants is under the special control of the head of state. Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Government, together with the state fund "Defenders of the Fatherland" and the regions, to organize interaction with SVO participants and their family members, including those who have not applied to the employment service, to provide them with support measures, assistance in employment and obtaining additional professional education," said Tatyana Golikova.

The Deputy Prime Minister noted that the Government has approved an interdepartmental plan of measures to improve the level of employment of SVO participants and organize their career guidance. The plan provides psychological, social and legal support for SVO participants in their employment, assistance in obtaining the necessary documents, and holding specialized job fairs with the participation of regional employers.

At present, more than 10.5 thousand participants of the SVO and their family members have applied to the employment service agencies; they have been provided with more than 33 thousand state services in the field of employment assistance, such as job search, career guidance and others.

The largest number of demobilized participants of the SVO are employed in manufacturing, transport, trade, construction and public administration.

A number of measures are envisaged to ensure employment of SVO participants and their family members. Thus, they have the right to receive assistance from employment service agencies in priority training and employment.

An employee participating in the SVO is provided with the retention of his/her job and social and labor guarantees that he/she had before the start of participation in the SVO. A special procedure for taking into account the length of service for the purpose of assigning a pension has been established.

As part of the national project "Personnel" launched on January 1, 2025, professional training is provided to participants of the SVO, as well as their family members. The training is carried out in accordance with the list of 360 professions, positions, and specialties in demand on the labor market approved in February 2025. An information resource for receiving and routing applications for training has been created on the "Work of Russia" portal.

Following the discussion, the following was instructed.

The Russian Ministry of Labor, together with the Social Fund, shall conduct an analysis of cases of employment of demobilized participants of the SVO who have had zero income or income below the minimum wage for a month (or for the last six months), as well as an analysis of the reasons for the current situation in the context of each identified case.

The State Foundation "Defenders of the Fatherland" shall formulate and send to the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education proposals on training aimed at improving the qualifications of SVO participants, with the aim of their employment in jobs (positions, professions) in which SVO participants have expressed a desire to carry out labor activities taking into account the acquired qualifications, as well as proposals on the formation in the subjects of registers of professions in demand among SVO participants.

In order to improve the organization of work on the employment of demobilized participants of the SVO, as well as for the future demobilization of participants of the SVO, the highest executive bodies of the subjects for the training (if necessary) of demobilized participants of the SVO, as well as their subsequent employment, should study the issue of the adequacy of the personnel potential of employment services to support the process of employment of demobilized participants of the SVO, and also conduct an analysis of the availability of vacant (reserved, planned for creation) jobs for the employment of this category of citizens.

The highest executive bodies of the constituent entities are recommended to strengthen their work on the employment of SVO participants, including SVO disabled persons, as well as their family members, using employment services (the "one-stop shop" principle, personal career consultant), the unified digital platform "Work of Russia", and to ensure continuous monitoring of this work and interaction between interested bodies. Inform SVO participants and their family members about the possibility of a priority order of using the mechanism of state social assistance on the basis of a social contract, about the right of employment service bodies to assist them in priority training and employment, about the activities of the national project "Personnel" for vocational training and additional vocational education of SVO participants and their family members, as well as employers about existing measures to stimulate the hiring of certain categories of citizens (through partial compensation of wages to employers), reimbursement of part of the costs of equipping workplaces for employment, including combat veterans with disabilities.

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The State Duma simplifies the entry of companies into associations and unions

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) – Ministry of Economic Development (Russia) –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Deputies approved the draft law of the Ministry of Economic Development, simplifying the process of joining business entities (JSC and LLC) to associations or unions. The draft law was developed within the framework of the "Transformation of the Business Climate" mechanism and was adopted in the first reading in September 2024.

The bill is aimed at optimizing the procedure for making decisions on business participation in associations, unions and other associations of legal entities or citizens. Current regulations provide for the adoption of such decisions exclusively by the highest governing body of the company – the general meeting of shareholders or participants of the company. Usually, the formation of the agenda, preparation of ballots for voting, and sending out invitations to shareholders take about a month.

"This procedure leads to additional costs associated with conducting corporate procedures. The draft law provides for the possibility of referring the issue of making such decisions by the charter of a joint-stock company to the competence of the board of directors or the collegial executive body of the company," noted First Deputy Minister of Economic Development Maxim Kolesnikov.

The regulation will affect more than 51 thousand joint-stock companies (JSC), including more than 800 public JSC, and more than 2.5 million limited liability companies (LLC).

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Marat Khusnullin: About 600 territories were improved in Russia in six months

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Government of the Russian Federation – Government of the Russian Federation –

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Park "Zheleznodorozhny", the city of Frolovo, Volgograd region

The federal project "Formation of a comfortable urban environment", which since 2025 has been part of the national project "Infrastructure for life", helps transform cities and towns across the country. Modern public spaces are being created in large and small towns: squares, embankments, pedestrian zones and other places for recreation and walking. This was reported by Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin.

"According to the President's instructions, 30,000 public areas need to be improved across the country by 2030 under the national project "Infrastructure for Life". This work is of great importance for improving the quality of life of people and developing regions. Improvement of public spaces makes cities more comfortable to live in, increases their attractiveness, and provides an additional incentive for the development of small businesses and domestic tourism. Therefore, we continue this systematic work. According to the results of the first half of 2025, 591 areas have been improved. Including 14 projects that were implemented – winners of the All-Russian competition of the best projects for creating a comfortable urban environment. These are parks, embankments, squares and courtyards that become centers of attraction – people walk here, play sports, relax with their families, meet with friends and new cafes open here," said Marat Khusnullin.

For example, in the Velizh municipal district of the Smolensk region, Sovetskaya and Volodarsky streets were transformed. The work included the creation of art objects, recreation areas, the arrangement of new road surfaces and landscaping. The updated territory with an area of 13.8 thousand square meters is already open to residents.

The first stage of improvement of the Heroes-Pilots Park in the Dzerzhinsky District of Volgograd has been completed. New pedestrian zones, lighting and thematic elements, including the composition "Boy with an Airplane", have appeared here.

For residents of the city of Frolovo in the Volgograd region, the Zheleznodorozhny Park has been renovated. Now it is a multifunctional space with areas for sports, recreation and cultural events. The park has new modern exercise machines, modernized sports areas, workout and street sports areas, a skate park, updated pedestrian routes and bike paths.

"During the operation of the federal project "Formation of a comfortable urban environment", from 2019 to 2024, almost 74 thousand modern, comfortable public and courtyard spaces were transformed, 921 projects were implemented – the winner of the all-Russian competition. Since 2025, the federal project "Formation of a comfortable urban environment", by decision of the President of Russia, has been retained as part of the national project "Infrastructure for life", – noted the Minister of Construction and Housing and Public Utilities Irek Fayzullin.

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China's trade-in consumer goods program helps boost demand

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) — More than 109 million units of home appliances have been purchased under China's trade-in consumer goods program this year, with more than 66 million buyers taking part, as the country stepped up efforts to boost domestic demand.

More than 74 million digital devices and nearly 9.06 million electric bicycles have been sold under the trade-in program this year, according to data released by China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday.

Previous statistics from the ministry showed that trade-in sales in the first five months of this year totaled 1.1 trillion yuan (about $153.93 billion).

Thanks to the program, China's retail sales of consumer goods, a key indicator of the country's consumption, rose 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year, 0.4 percentage points faster than the first quarter.

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Shenzhen Leads Chinese Cities in Foreign Trade Volume in First Half of This Year

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

SHENZHEN, July 23 (Xinhua) — The foreign trade volume of Shenzhen in south China's Guangdong Province reached 2.17 trillion yuan (about 303.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first half of 2025, ranking first among cities on the Chinese mainland, data released by Shenzhen Customs showed Tuesday.

Exports reached 1.31 trillion yuan, while imports reached 858.86 billion yuan. Despite external challenges and the relatively low figures for the same period in 2024, Shenzhen's trade showed resilience with notable growth, the customs said.

In the first six months of this year, Shenzhen's private enterprises' export and import volume amounted to 1.51 trillion yuan, accounting for 69.8 percent of the city's total foreign trade.

Shenzhen's main trading partners were ASEAN, Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan. Other key partners included the EU, the US, India, the UK, the Republic of Korea, Japan and Mexico.

According to official data, electromechanical products, including computers and their components, integrated circuits and batteries, dominated exports, while electromechanical products, including integrated circuits and computer components, also accounted for the majority of imports.

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Iran FM: Lifting sanctions, respecting country's nuclear rights necessary to resume talks with US

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People's Republic of China in Russian – People's Republic of China in Russian –

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Source: People's Republic of China – State Council News

TEHRAN, July 22 (Xinhua) — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Tuesday that his country is ready to resume indirect talks with the United States on the condition that sanctions are lifted and Tehran's right to use nuclear technology for "peaceful" purposes is respected.

The diplomat made the statement at a meeting with members of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, as reported by the official Iranian news agency IRNA, citing committee member Yaghub Rezazadeh.

According to the legislator, A. Araghchi noted that “if sanctions are lifted and Iran’s right to use peaceful nuclear technologies is respected, indirect negotiations with the United States will take place before the issue of /activating/ the sanctions rollback mechanism is raised in October.”

The sanctions snapback mechanism is part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). It allows other parties to reimpose all international sanctions if Iran fails to comply with the agreement.

As Y. Rezazadeh pointed out, in addition, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced preparations for negotiations on the Iranian nuclear program between Iran and Russia, as well as a meeting of representatives of Iran and three European countries – France, Great Britain and Germany, which is scheduled to take place on July 25 in Istanbul and will be devoted to the same issue.

Iran signed the JCPOA with six countries – Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States – in July 2015. Under the deal, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to begin gradually backtracking on its nuclear commitments. –0–

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