Moscow Days Held in Antalya
Moscow Days took place in Antalya, combining business and cultural agendas. The program included meetings of the Moscow delegation with the city’s municipal leadership, a conference titled “Moscow – Antalya: Experience. Trends. Opportunities,” business negotiations with business representatives, and specialized roundtables. The program concluded with a vibrant cultural segment, allowing Antalya’s guests and residents to explore the diversity of Moscow’s traditions and contemporary art.
At a meeting with representatives of the Antalya Municipality, Sergey Cheremin, Minister of the Government of Moscow and Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations, noted that Moscow and Antalya actively exchange delegations. “For us, Antalya is one of the most important partners not only in foreign economic and tourism cooperation but also in high technology,” Cheremin said. In the first quarter of this year, Turkey moved up to second place as a foreign economic partner of Moscow, just after the People’s Republic of China.
Moscow cooperates with Turkey in digital technologies and the food industry. According to the Minister, mechanical engineering is another promising area. Chambers of commerce and industry make a significant contribution to cooperation. Antalya and Moscow cooperate in social policy, healthcare, education, and sports. “Our higher education institutions have already signed relevant cooperation agreements,” Sergey Cheremin said.
Antalya’s Acting Mayor Büşra Özdemir recalled that Antalya recently joined the Moscow Government’s UrbanTransportData project in 2024, as part of the 3rd International Transport Summit, which brought together 107 experts from 24 countries. UrbanTransportData is a digital analytical platform that provides information on transport performance in cities around the world and allows users to learn about best practices and industry trends.
She also added that another sign of growing ties between the regions is the increase in tourists from Russia. From January to August 2025, more than 2.6 million Russian citizens visited Antalya, accounting for 24% of total tourist traffic.
Cooperation extends to many other areas. In the future, the Antalya‑Moscow working group will serve as an important platform for developing cooperation. “Antalya’s business community is ready to establish business contacts with Moscow’s business community in areas such as agriculture, tourism, food industry, information technology, and finance,” Özdemir said about the prospects for cooperation.
According to Özdemir, Antalya is interested in participating in the cultural festival in Moscow, as Latin American, Thai, and Indian countries already do. “Moscow will also host a cultural heritage council, and we intend to ensure the active participation of relevant specialists from Antalya,” Özdemir emphasized. She also stated that an Antalya delegation plans to attend the International Municipal BRICS Forum, to be held from October 29 to 31 in St. Petersburg.
On September 26, a conference titled “Moscow – Antalya: Experience. Trends. Opportunities” was held at the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The event aimed at developing cooperation in key areas. Conference participants presented Moscow companies’ achievements to Turkish partners and discussed opportunities for Turkish businesses in Moscow. “More than twenty companies have come to Antalya, offering new digital technologies and cutting‑edge medical developments. We are working with the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry and exchanging information,” said Vladimir Platonov, President of the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. According to Yusuf Hacısüleyman, President of the Antalya Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Antalya wants to expand cooperation with Moscow companies. “We view cooperation at the highest level as the result of the business development agreements signed between us and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry in 2023,” Hacısüleyman noted.
At the conference, the Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations spoke about the dynamics of Russian‑Turkish relations: “Our countries have set a goal and a plan to achieve foreign trade turnover of $100 billion. I think this is a completely realistic figure, and our forum aims precisely to introduce our companies to each other and provide maximum assistance in promoting Turkish companies to Moscow, to the Russian Federation, and our companies to Turkey.”
In his address, Sergey Cheremin emphasized that Moscow and Antalya are actively exchanging experience in creating favourable conditions for business development. “Moscow has about 50 technology parks and industrial clusters with special status, where we provide unprecedented benefits for business development — tax holidays, subsidies on loan interest rates, startup funding — which has helped industrial production in Moscow grow. Over the past ten years, it has doubled. Today, in terms of purchasing power parity, Moscow is among the five largest urban agglomerations in the world by gross regional product,” the Minister said. He added that despite rapid industrial growth, Moscow takes environmental requirements and sustainable development principles into account when formulating all programs.
Another important area is cooperation in the cultural sphere. On September 26, a roundtable was held in Demre on the preservation and study of cultural heritage, construction, and restoration. The event took place at the Myra Excavation House — a key archaeological site in the city. Participants included representatives of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow, the Kolomenskoye Museum‑Reserve, the Tsaritsyno Museum‑Reserve, and other industry experts. The Moscow delegation presented its key restoration projects, as well as efforts to promote heritage through modern technology. Roundtable participants confirmed their interest in further coordinating efforts, including the organization of joint educational programmes and international initiatives aimed at promoting and preserving the historical and cultural heritage of cities.
Another significant cultural initiative as part of Moscow Days was a series of thematic photo exhibitions. At the exhibition “Preserving Moscow’s Cultural Heritage,” organized in Antalya by the Moscow Department of Cultural Heritage, visitors were shown the best restored cultural heritage sites of recent years. The restored landmarks featured in the exhibition have been recognized as laureates of the “Moscow Restoration” competition, held annually by the Moscow Government. A second exhibition, “Contemporary Moscow,” was organized jointly with the Moscow Main Archive. Visitors could journey through the centuries and moods, seeing a metropolis where tradition harmoniously blends with contemporary rhythms.
The cultural program of Moscow Days in Antalya was enhanced by a performance by the jazz ensemble of Vadim Eilenkrig.
As part of Moscow Days, the Moscow delegation also met with compatriots living in Antalya. Participants discussed a number of important issues, such as organizing events for compatriots and the challenges facing Russian schools in Turkey.