On 6-8^th June 2019, the 23rd St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) took place in St. Petersburg, Russia. «Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda» was announced as the key topic of SPIEF 2019. The leaders gave their appraisal of problems, which the global economy, current globalisation model, international trade and financial systems are facing. Among them the malicious competition between states, protectionism, trade wars, unilateral sanctions, and limitations.

President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin talked about the issue the country is facing, as well as about the importance of national projects as a driver of economic growth. He announced the budget for national projects as a sum of around 400 billion dollars, which will “cover healthcare, education, research and development, and support for entrepreneurship”. In addition to the aforementioned, considerable funds will be allocated to develop “major infrastructure, transport, and the energy industry”.

This year, the Forum broke its own records both in a number of participants – over 19 000 – and in a number of countries – people from 145 different states visited the Forum. SPIEF holds more than 230 various events, including a number of panel discussions, roundtables, business breakfasts, televised debates and business dialogues between countries.

The SPIEF is a unique annual international event in the world of economics and business, which has been held in St. Petersburg since 1997. Since 2005, the Forum has been held with the President of the Russian Federation participating as a keynote speaker. The Forum brings together the chief executives of major Russian and international companies, heads of state, political leaders, prime ministers, deputy prime ministers, departmental ministers, and governors.

The key idea of the SPIEF is to provide business with a practical tool for overcoming geographical and informational barriers, which currently isolate  Russia from other countries.

To find out more about this Forum, you can visit the website: https://www.forumspb.com/en/