Experts: SPIEF becomes one of most important platforms for international business contacts

May 20, 2019 - PRLog -- The key topic of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which will be held at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre on June 6–8, is Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda, says the official website.

According to the adviser to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov, the Forum programme is based on a thorough analysis of current trends in the development of all sectors of the global economy.

"Thanks to the work of experts, scholars, professional and public associations, the discussions under the SPIEF business programme annually become the key to resolving the most crucial problems of global development. The conclusions drawn from the Forum's discussions encourage business and government to take the decisions needed for achieving sustainable development goals", he said.

According to the organizers, the programme of the Forum consists of four thematic blocks: The Global Economy in Search of a Balance, The Russian Economy: Achieving National Development Goals, Technologies Shaping the Future, and People First.

During business sessions, participants will discuss the most topical issues of global macroeconomic development, changes in the structure of the world economy, trade, problems of competition, investment, and the development of Russian regions.

Moreover, they will concentrate on the cyberthreats, digitalization of certain sectors of the economy, international cooperation in science, competitiveness of Russian education, immigration policy and public health architecture.

In addition, the SPIEF programme involves the World Energy Council session and the Valdai Club sessions, the B20 Regional Consultation Forum, the EAEU—ASEAN business dialogues, the Russian-Chinese Energy Business Forum, the International Youth Economic Forum, the SCO Conference, the Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Forum, and the BRICS Conference.

Commenting on the upcoming event in St. Petersburg, Philip Hanson, Associate Fellow, Russia and Eurasia Programme, Chatham House, noted the importance of the forum for the development of interstate economic relations.

"It is an event that is monitored by analysts and businesspeople concerned with trade and investment with Russia. Investment and trade between Europe and Russia are still limited by sanctions and by sluggish growth in both Russia and the Eurozone, constraining demand. [...] But there are signs of life," the expert told PenzaNews.

"Nord Stream 2 [...] still has strong support from Germany and will not be halted. Total's investment in Novatek's Arctic LNG seems to be going ahead," the British analyst explained.

According to him, the composition of the forum participants and theses of its main speakers are of particular interest, since they will demonstrate the emerging trends.

"Who will attend from Europe? From the US? Will Putin adopt a Russia-is-open-for-business tone? He probably will. What will be the messages from leading members of the Russian government's economic bloc? In particular, what will the message be about future tax burdens? Uncertainty about taxation concerns foreign as well as domestic business. I anticipate business-friendly speeches, but the constraints of sanctions and relatively weak demand on both sides remain," Philip Hanson said.

Source: https://penzanews.ru/en/analysis/66128-2019