FAS, Interfax agree to cooperate on training, upgrading qualifications of purchasing professionals

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia (FAS) and Interfax Group signed an agreement at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on Thursday to develop cooperation in the area of training and upgrading the qualifications of purchasing professionals.

The document was signed by FAS Head Maxim Shaskolsky and Interfax Group Chairman Mikhail Komissar.

FAS and Interfax plan to organize training within the context of post-secondary and continuing professional education programs in cooperation with leading Russian post-secondary institutions that are participants in the Interfax Universities Program, which include the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), Higher School of Economics and Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (Ranepa).

"Our joint education program is an important step for establishing a common approach and preventing violations of purchasing legislation. It was developed with the participation of experts who directly control purchasing procedures and have information about the most common mistakes in the area of government, municipal and commercial procurements. The course will make it possible to improve the legal literacy of participants in the purchasing system, reduce the number of violations and accelerate the implementation of socially important projects," FAS Head Maxim Shaskolsky said.

"Interfax has been working on purchasing analytics for many years, and the information and analytical systems we developed help customers, suppliers and regulatory bodies to improve the efficiency of the purchasing process, identify and prevent violations, ensure transparency and protect competition. Our joint project with the Federal Antimonopoly Service is aimed at improving the professional knowledge and developing new competencies of students, educators at Russian universities, as well as professionals already working in the field of government procurements," Interfax Group Chairman Mikhail Komissar said.

The Federal Antimonopoly Service of Russia enforces compliance with antimonopoly legislation, and legislation concerning the activities of natural monopolies, government regulation of prices for goods and services and advertising. The Service is also responsible for control over foreign investment in companies with strategic importance for the country's defense and national security; and control in the area of government defense contracts, as well as purchases of goods and services for state and municipal needs, and for the needs of certain types of legal entities.

FAS pursues its mandate guided by the principles of free competition, protection of entrepreneurship and ensuring market participants equal access to goods and services.

Interfax is Russia's largest non-governmental information group, having created the advanced information and analytical systems SPARK, SCAN, RuData, Marker, and X-Compliance that help businesses manage risks and work with data efficiently. The group includes one of the most well-known and most cited Russian news agencies in the world, Interfax, whose clients include leading media outlets, government agencies, and major corporations and banks in Russia and globally.

Interfax launched the Universities Program "Digital Technologies for Education and Science" at the beginning of 2020 with the aim of integrating modern IT solutions into the educational process and academic endeavors of the country's leading universities and research centers.

Under the program, Interfax, working with its partners, develops its own education programs, courses and teaching aids on a broad range of subjects, including corporate business analysis, risk assessment, compliance procedures, ensuring transparency of government procurements, analysis of the government contracts market and competition, taxation, financial and credit risks, RegTech, digital solutions in legal practice, media analysis and news reporting.