Three-week whirlwind business development tour in Russia and the CIS
Several years ago Jim Muir left the USA expecting 15 meetings and facility tours. What he got were 27 meetings in three weeks, little sleep and lasting memories. It was a hands-on experience bouncing along the length and breadth of Georgia, Armenia, Moldova and south-western Russia – by car.
What he had to offer was potential financial assistance along with alternative energy equipment and expertise. Appointments were arranged in advance by his network in the former Soviet Union. Photo above in Drochia, Moldova. Friend and colleague Vladimir Sterpov (center) discusses potential corn ethanol project with Muir’s Arkansas, USA client, Agri Enterprise.
Meeting with government in Nikolaevski Krai, Russia. Attending were the Women’s Korean Association of the Russian Federation and ethnic Korean farmers from the region outside Volgograd (formerly Stalingrad).
Meeting arranged for client Biofuel Integration of Arkansas, USA to discuss potential corn ethanol facility near Drochia, Moldova.
At cloud level on drive from Tbilisi, Georgia to Yerevan, Armenia.
Presentation by the mayor of the agricultural city of Temryuk in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. Located not far from Crimea.
Lion Gri winery in Chisinau. The Moldovan language is closely related to Latin.
An interesting option for lunch, “Stalin’s Dacha” near Sochi. One of Stalin’s many homes, it was painted “forest green” as camouflage against attack.