Delegates from over 130 countries to attend St Petersburg Economic Forum – Kremlin aide

The three-day international event will focus on key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world

Russia is ready to host the 27th annual St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2024) on Wednesday, with thousands of participants expected for the annual event. This year SPIEF will be held on June 5-8.

Interest in the forum is growing as more countries aim to expand cooperation with Russia and despite Western pressure not to, according to Russian presidential adviser Anton Kobyakov.

“SPIEF is the leading platform for discussing issues of international development. It is here that opinions are exchanged and cooperation ties are established,” Kobyakov, the Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee, has said, noting that SPIEF 2023 has “clearly demonstrated that, despite the turbulence in the global economy, many countries are ready to build bridges of understanding and cooperation.” 

This year the forum will bring together delegates from 136 countries, including Abkhazia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Venezuela, India, Kazakhstan and China. Oman will be the guest country, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters. The Sultanate will participate in SPIEF under the slogan of studying opportunities of the Russian market to promote cooperation in areas free from the effect of sanctions, Ushakov said.

Zimbabwe’s President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Bolivian President Luis Arce and President Milorad Dodik of Republika Srpska will be among the foreign leaders at the event.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is traditionally expected to address the forum’s plenary session. Putin will address the state of affairs in the national and global economy, as well as politics, and will likely talk about the Ukraine conflict, according to Ushakov.

This year, SPIEF’s theme is ‘The Foundations of a Multipolar World - The Formation of New Areas of Growth.’

The forum’s program lists almost 400 business events, such as panel discussions and business dialogues, including EAEU-ASEAN, Russia-Africa, Russia-Latin America, Russia-China, Russia-South Africa, and other bilateral meetings.

SPIEF has been held in St Petersburg since 1997, and under the auspices of the Russian President since 2006. Over 17,000 participants from 130 countries took part in the SPIEF 2023 events, with more than 900 agreements signed, according to the forum’s official website.