Within the framework of the Second Summit, Russia-Africa Economic and Humanitarian Forum in St. Petersburg, the Head of FAS of Russia Maxim Shaskolsky and representatives of competition authorities of South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia and Gambia held negotiations.
Maxim Shaskolsky, Head of the Russian Antimonopoly Agency, and Hardin Ratshisusu, Deputy Commissioner of the Competition Commission of South Africa, discussed the current antimonopoly response measures and the state of cooperation between the antimonopoly regulators of Russia and South Africa both bilaterally and in the BRICS format.
The parties noted that the antimonopoly regulators of Russia and South Africa have been cooperating for more than 10 years, and during this period the relations have reached the level of strategic partnership.
An important area of cooperation between the countries is cooperation in law enforcement, for example, consultations in cases of antimonopoly law violations by large multinational companies and global economic concentration transactions that affect the state of competition in Russia and South Africa. It is with the competition authority of South Africa that FAS Russia has held the largest number of such consultations, including Bayer/Monsanto in the agro-industrial sector, Siemens/Alstom in the train construction market, Metso Outotec in the fertilizer production market, AON/Willis Tower Watson in the brokerage and insurance services market.
The head of the FAS noted that when assessing transactions, the agencies use the BRICS Model Recommendations on the use of the confidentiality waiver mechanism (waver). This allows for a full discussion of the nature of the transaction, approaches to its assessment and exchange of necessary information.
Also within the framework of cooperation the tools of international cooperation are used, which are fixed in the documents of international organizations, including the Guidelines and Procedures under Section F of the UN Competition Set. The Guidelines were developed on the initiative of the FAS of Russia together with a number of competition authorities, in particular, the Competition Commission of South Africa.
The Head of FAS Russia and Mahmoud Momtaz, Head of the Egyptian Competition Authority, also met at the forum. The parties discussed topical issues of antimonopoly regulation in both countries and the prospects for Russian-Egyptian cooperation in the field of competition protection.
It was proposed to organize a round table for representatives of the Egyptian business community that operate in Russia. Such an event will help to raise awareness of business representatives of current trends in Russian legislation, explain the specifics of antimonopoly control, control of government procurement, foreign investments, fight against unfair competition and regulation of advertising activities.
In addition, a draft Memorandum of Understanding in the field of competition policy between the FAS of Russia and the Egyptian Competition Authority is at the final stage of harmonization and is expected to be signed in the near future.
Maxim Shaskolsky also held a meeting with Mohamed Mnasser, Second Vice President of the Tunisian Competition Council, to exchange information on competition enforcement in both countries. During the talks, the interest in developing relevant bilateral ties was emphasized.
The heads of regulators also discussed the possibility of organizing internships for Tunisian specialists in the Russian agency and in the Training and Methodological Center of the FAS of Russia in Kazan.
Trends in antimonopoly regulation in Russia and Gambia were discussed during negotiations with Amadou Ceesay, Chief Executive of the Gambia Commission for Competition and Consumer Protection.
During the meeting, the parties confirmed the need to effectively utilize the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation.
Amadou Ceesay also noted the extensive experience of FAS Russia in the field of competition policy. Taking into account the similar powers of the agencies, as well as priority socially important markets in Russia and Gambia, it was agreed to further exchange experience and practices. For example, the Russian agency will send its Gambian colleagues a review of pricing on the market of pharmaceuticals, in particular VEDs, conducted jointly with its CIS colleagues, as well as a review of tariff regulation practices.
In addition, the representatives of the antimonopoly agencies discussed future joint events, in particular, the Conference of the African Competition Forum, where FAS Russia will participate. The event will be held on October 31 - November 1 in Banjul (Gambia).
At the end of the meeting the parties agreed to continue cooperation and formalize it by concluding a memorandum.
In addition, they discussed with representatives of all countries the issues of cooperation within the framework of EAEU+, BRICS+, as well as on the platform of UNCTAD, in particular, within the framework of UNCTAD's Working Group on Cross-Border Cartels. To date, more than 50 competition authorities, including antitrust regulators from South Africa, Egypt and Gambia, have joined the Working Group. These authorities are also in favor of FAS Russia's initiative to create UN global standards for international cooperation in cross-border cartel investigations on the UNCTAD platform. The Tunisian Competition Authority, in turn, was invited to join the Working Group's activities.
The 8th BRICS Competition Conference, organized by the Competition Commission of India with the support of competition authorities of all BRICS countries, will also take place in New Delhi, India, on October 11-13. Foreign colleagues were invited to participate in the discussions at the Conference. In 2023, the BRICS bodies are chaired by the Competition Commission of South Africa.
At the end of the meetings with each party, priority areas for further joint work were outlined. In the course of bilateral negotiations with representatives of antimonopoly regulators from African countries, the Head of FAS Russia reached an agreement to expand cooperation in antimonopoly enforcement, exchange experience and practices, and support each other's initiatives on international platforms.
The Russia-Africa Summit is the key and most ambitious event in Russian-African relations. It is aimed at achieving a qualitatively new level of our mutually beneficial partnership that meets the challenges of the 21st century. The goal of the event is to contribute to the strengthening of comprehensive and equal cooperation between Russia and African countries in all its dimensions: politics, security, economy, science and technology, cultural and humanitarian spheres. The first Russia-Africa Summit was held on October 23-24, 2019 in Sochi under the motto "For Peace, Security and Development".
Source: FAS
