MOSCOW, September 28 (RIA Novosti) - Alexander Shokhin nominated Wednesday to head the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) said his top priority would be to bring business together.
"As the president [of the RSPP], I think my main objective will be to consolidate business interests and transform the RSPP, including in the eyes of the public, into an organization that promotes the interests of business in general, and not only of major capital," Shokhin told the Ekho Moskvy radio station.
He said there had long been no reason to label the RSPP as "oligarchs' trade union" because big business and oligarchs were two separate things.
Shokhin added that if he were elected, he would uphold the interests of small and medium-sized companies, as "big business can always find a way to defend itself."
"A normal entrepreneurial environment, including for small and medium-sized business is the driving force of economic growth and investment activity," Shokhin said.
Shokhin also said that he would set up a center for corporate disputes.
"I believe it will be instrumental in fighting corruption," he said.
Shokhin added that the current president of the union, Arkady Volsky, might be appointed head of the center. "I think a respected man like Arkady Volsky could do well as an arbiter in corporate disputes," Shokhin said.
