International Shipping Executives Gather in Washington DC for Transportation Summit

The intricacies of shipping to and from the NIS were addressed at the Center for Business Intelligence "Transportation & Distribution in Russia/CIS" conference held in Washington D.C. on January 30 and 31. The conference, co-chaired by ARCCI President Helen Teplitskaia and President of the Foundation for Russian/American Economic Cooperation Carol Vipperman, featured representatives from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, U.S. Department of Commerce Business Information Services for the NIS, Sea-Land Service International Ltd., CIGNA, the U.S. Department of Commerce, McDermott, Will & Emery, Caterpillar Inc., Coudert Brothers, PepsiCo Wines & Spirits International, and Benson & Company, Inc. LLC.

Excellent presentations were made by Michael Plotkin, Vice President and Director of Logistics, SoyuzKontrakt (Moscow). The conference truly benefited from the remarkably open and professional exchange between the speakers and attendees. The ensuing dialog led to the identification of problem areas and practical solutions were found for successful operations in Russia and the CIS. The ARCCI co-sponsored the event.