SPIEF 2011 Programme

“For both oil and gas markets, 2010 was characterised by the sharp recovery of the global economy after the recession in 2009 but the two markets have gone their separate ways in recent months”, Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

“Oil markets have seen a surge in demand growth in emerging markets, outstripping growth in supply, pushing prices higher even before the conflict in Libya tightens supplies further”, Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

“In both oil and gas we see a notable dichotomy between non-OECD and OECD markets with demand driven by China, India and the Middle-East”, Nobuo Tanaka, Executive Director, International Energy Agency

“The most important source of gas is Yamal. Yamal is our new super giant field just coming into production in the north central regions of Russia”, Laszlo Varro, Vice President for Strategy Development of MOL Plc., International Energy Agency

“In fact, gas production is at exactly the level it would have been if the financial crisis had never happened”, Laszlo Varro, Vice President for Strategy Development of MOL Plc., International Energy Agency

“High prices and strong economic and oil demand growth can co-exist for a while because of the inelasticity of oil prices in the short-term. Economic risks, however, remain skewed to the downside the longer oil is at 100 dollars plus. And that should also ultimately spur greater efficiency gains within the oil economy going forward”, David Fyfe, Head, Oil Industry&Markets Division, International Energy Agency

“Natural gas liquids are becoming an increasingly important part of the supply mix going forward”, David Fyfe, Head, Oil Industry&Markets Division, International Energy Agency

"Russia has huge natural resources, huge oil and gas potential and huge infrastructure needs. For Caterpillar, Russia is the right country at the right time, and for a long time", Gerard R. Vittecoq, Group President, Caterpillar Inc.

"A strong conviction has emerged on the part of Russian business that we are fully prepared to intensify of our economic cooperation", Victor Vekselberg, Chairman, Renova Group; President, SKOLKOVO Foundation

"We see enormous cultural compatibility between Americans and Russians when we do business. On the whole, we have never had any problems – neither cultural, nor economic, nor political – when investing in the U.S.", Alexei Mordashov, General Director, Severstal JSC

"I would also say that the reset has started us now on the way toward a much more solid and sustainable commercial relationship – commercial and economic ties that we really all understand have to be the foundation of the relationship and have to be that shock absorber that helps us to ride out some of the political ups and downs", John Beyrle, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation

"One important factor is Russia’s integration into the global economy. This presents an interesting opportunity to put international experience and the global rules for economic organisation and doing business directly into action across our broad Russian territory", Alexei Likhachev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

“Brands are increasingly looking throughout the world at franchising. Why? Because it is a much safer investment for people who are doing their own business”, Mark Hilton, Vice President International, Sbarro International

"Support measures should be aimed above all at creating an infrastructure of support for small and medium-sized business", Sergei Kryukov, Chairman of the Board of MSP Bank

"The tendency of the business community’s participation in defending the rights of entrepreneurs is increasingly gathering momentum", Viktor Klimov, Vice President of the All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Business, OPORA RUSSIA

"The date of Russia’s entry into the WTO is 2011. Full stop", Anatoly Chubais, CEO, Russian corporation for Nanotechnologies

"Culture and professional development are now the hot topics of the day. This is a sign of the new quality of cooperation between the Russian and European economies", Anatoly Chubais, CEO, Russian corporation for Nanotechnologies

What do we need for investments to be effective and successful? We need human capital, meaning people whom we can trust, people who know how to work and are ready to work, Sergey Dubinin, Member of board of directors VTB-Capital

"Russia and India certainly have a rich history of bilateral cooperation. However, we cannot move forward based on past achievements alone – that would not be right. The future is all about new initiatives, new projects and new achievements", Sergei Ivanov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

“We shouldn’t look at each other as stereotypes. Both our countries have much to offer, both are evolving in the right direction”, Ajai Malhotra, Ambassador of India to the Russian Federation
 

"Today we can confidently say that the CIS has established itself in economic, energy and humanitarian terms as well as in ensuring security", Sergei Lebedev, CIS Executive Committee Chairman, Executive Secretary

"Integration is not an end in itself. Each participant in the integration process aspires to obtain benefits and advantages. The obvious benefits of the CIS are sales markets for members, replenishment of scarce resources, the use of common transport infrastructure and the preservation and development of cooperative ties", Andrei Spartak,
Director of the Russian Market Research Institute

“There is a great opportunity for mutual convergence and mutual cooperation among communications operators and energy companies”, Alexander Provotorov, President, Chairman of the Board, Rostelecom

"Whether you have a strong economy or a weak economy, you have a democracy or not such a good democracy the fact of the matter is that internet makes everything better", Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

"Google will clearly still be fundamentally in the information business which will see fewer of the answers ‘here’s everything that’s on the web’ and more of a move to giving you the right answer", Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman, Google

"Technology is not an end in itself. The aim is to deliver high-quality content", Igor Shchegolev, Minister of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation

"Education is changing and it’s becoming an industry of superstars", Sergei Guriev, Rector, New Economic School

"Corporate governance and compliance within our companies – all these terms are no longer something incomprehensible to Russian businesspeople, and we are making a real transition to all this. In this sense, business is outdistancing the public sector", Sergey Dubinin, Member of the Board of Directors, VTB Capital

"The International Space Station opened our eyes to the fact that it’s possible to cooperate effectively and well", Gennady Raikunov, General Director, Central Scientific and Research Engineering Institute

"And today we have a shining example of exceptional and unique global cooperation, where politics is absent and instead there is truly constructive work", Vitaly Lopota, General Director, RSC Energia

"Health care spending is not an expenditure but rather an investment in the birth of future generations", Mark Kurtser, Head Obstetrician-Gynaecologist of the Moscow Health Care Department

"In the foreseeable future demand for energy sources will be met by gas, oil and coal, Igor Sechin", Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

"We expect the price of gas to reach $500 per 1000 cubic metres towards the end of the year", Alexei Miller, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Directors, Chairman of the Management Committee, Gazprom JSC

"For the past 300 years, St Petersburg symbolised Russia’s determination to look towards the West …but with economic growth rates in Asia much higher than in Europe, looking East is suddenly more attractive", Nik Gowing, Main Presenter, BBC World News

"At this moment in time, in terms of my company’s growth potential, Russia and China are the two most important markets for our investments", Dr. Eckhard Cordes, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Metro AG; Chairman of the German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations

"Russia doesn’t want to win or fight against the world. Russia simply wants to develop.", Oleg Deripaska, Chairman of the Management Board, General Director, UC RUSAL; Chairman of the Board, En+ Group

"[The current situation] is not a euro crisis; it’s a debt crisis on the periphery – and each country has somewhat a different history", Dr. Josef Ackermann, Chairman of the Management Board and the Group Executive Committee, Deutsche Bank

"The need for all of us individually – and countrywide as well – is to separate the noise from the important notes of information. It takes leadership to focus people on what is important and it takes leadership to ensure that the difficult decisions and solutions have been taken",  Maria Bartiromo, Anchor, CNBC's Closing Bell; Host and Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal Report

"The main problem we face in our cooperation is a certain imbalance between mutual interests; while Russian capital is actively penetrating Arab markets, Arab capital has been more selective", Artyom Kapshuk, Anchor, Rusiya al-Yaum

"The main objective of the Russian Direct Investment Fund is to attract Arab money", Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"Emerging markets are leading the growth in this world", Mustafa Abdel-Wadood, Chief Executive Officer, Abraaj Capital Limited

"The main task facing the post-industrial world today is to attract human resources in the broadest sense of the word: human capital, which includes people’s intellectual and organisational abilities, their talents and their endeavours to develop the territory in which they live", Sergei Sobyanin, Mayor of Mosco

"Mayors have to be powerful, passionate about their city and, most importantly, they have to be innovative to guarantee job creation. They have to be able to make decisions, too", Richard M. Daley, Mayor of Chicago (1989–2011)

"Employment is the most important thing. When you are employed, you feel like a true citizen", Jussi Pajunen, Mayor of Helsinki

"Cloud isn’t about saving money; it’s about being able to do some new things much faster and more simply, more flexibly, but not more cheaply", Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Architect, Parallels

"Privacy is dead. Today and especially in the future it will be possible to check every single word you said, every single word you write, and every single place you’ve been", Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Architect, Parallels

"There is a potential to improve, by investing long-term. We at the World Bank Group are planning to increase investments from 6 billion dollars a year to 8 billion in agriculture, and this should support an increase in supply all over the world",  Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Managing Director, World Bank Group

"We’re going to see more and more technologies that are built to protect us from these kinds of threats to personal data security in the internet, but in reality we will also see technologies that find ways to circumvent these technologies",  Orit Gadiesh, Chairman, Bain & Company

"I do think that there are standards of conduct that have to exist across borders and there have to be public-private partnerships that come together to try and create some of those standards and accountability for people in terms of what they do on the internet every day", Peter T. Grauer, Chairman, Bloomberg L.P.

"National regulation of the internet that takes a prohibitory approach is absolutely futile, as it runs counter to the idea of the technology itself and, to a large degree, to the mood of society", Igor Shchegolev, Minister of Connection and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation

"It would be impossible to effectively counter all potential violations on the internet in the context of a single country... But we do believe that coordination in this area is needed on the international level. We need a common set of rules for the game, which above all would match the interests of users and citizens", Igor Shchegolev, Minister of Connection and Mass Communications of the Russian Federation

"The Russian Federation is truly on the path to openness and liberalisation of immigration laws", Yelena Dunayeva, Head, Federal Migration Service for St. Petersburg and Leningradsky Region

"The immigration policy is always on the agenda for members of the Association of European Businesses. We hope there will be significant improvement in the bureaucratic process in the near future thanks to automation and on-line registration of foreign specialists", Frank Schauff, CEO, Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation

"The Russian Federation has made great strides on the issue of attracting foreign workers, and we hope that this policy will continue to evolve in the future", Frank Schauff, CEO, Association of European Businesses in the Russian Federation

"The optional co-investment nature has many benefits because it allows the investors to tailor the investments to their specific risk-return objectives", Edward Eisler, Co-head of the Global Securities Division, Member of the Management Committee, Goldman Sachs

"It is always good to have friends when you go into a place which does not seem so easy", Stephen Schwarzman, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Blackstone; Chairman of the Board of Directors, Blackstone Group Management L.L.C.

"The Direct Investment Fund is not a substitution of the institutional measures undertaken by the president and the government", Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"We do not only want the fund to be a vehicle to co-invest, but we want it to be a vehicle to show that Russia is indeed a very good and attractive destination for investments. If we cannot make this transparent, easily understood and very-very clean, it won’t work", Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"I see the erosion of differences between countries. I think the advantage gap is really shrinking due to the speed with which information can be transferred. You see business models being invented in one part of the world and being reintroduced again and again, globally", Yuri Milner, Founder, Chief Executive Officer, DST Global

"[The Internet and social networks] give everybody access to lots of information and they have a lot of conditional things on governments. If they don't know how to deal with this, it probably leads them to try and control it as opposed to responding to what the message is. And that brings the question: what is more important for Russia?" Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

"The crisis is not only economic or political, it is also a crisis of mindsets, and this is a big risk", Elena Salgado, Vice President and Minister of Economy and Finance, Government of the Kingdom of Spain

"The biggest hope of the slow-growth economies is that the fast-growth economies are able to pull them out of debt, to help clear some of the structure issues", Roland Nash, Senior Partner, Verno Capital

"There are signs that some countries have learned lessons from the crisis and I believe Russia is one of the best examples", Yaroslav Lissovolik, Member of the Management Board, Chief Economist, Head of Research Department, Deutsche Bank Ltd

"The role of the BRIC countries in the reform of international financial organisations and in global economic issues is increasingly growing and acquiring new dimensions. Cooperation between the BRIC countries in the banking sector will deepen", Di Weiping, Chief Investment Officer, China Development Bank Corporation

"Emerging and developing economies are a major engine for recovery and growth after the crisis and the major propeller of growth now and in the future. Developing countries will keep leading substantial growth in the future and reshape the modern economic geography", Luciano Coutinho, President, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)

"Over the next decade emerging countries will take market share from each other. India and China are price-takers from international trade, while Russia and Brazil are price-givers", Peter Mandelson, Chairman, Global Counsel; Senior Adviser, Lazard Ltd; Member of the House of Lords, European Commissioner for Trade (2004-2008)

"We need to capture the imagination of our young people again. We need to be able to establish the kind of vision that was present in many different contexts at very different points in the lives of our countries. We need more young people engaged in science. We need more science", John J. DeGioia, President, Georgetown University

"This is not about the money. It’s about the conditions. It’s about the atmosphere that does not allow professional growth of the young people and them seeing the future that they can capitalize on", Konstantin Severinov, Head of the laboratory, Institute of Gene Biology (RAS); Professor, Rutgers University Department of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (US)

"It is wrong to consider Russian science as something separate. It is part of global science", Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

"We very much need international promotion… we have an extremely valuable product – classic Russian literature, we should be paying attention to this amazing asset",   Kira Saganskaya, Co-producer, ROK Studio

"In terms of distribution, about 90% of our sources will be digital next year. This will be a method for combating piracy",  Mark Lolo, President, Central Partnership

"So, the problem is that the market is fragmented in Europe and this is linked to one problem specific to Europe, that’s language" (speaking about European cinema market), Andreas Schreitmuller, Commissioning Editor, ARTE

"Together we should create a common visa-free area. Visas are now a thing of the past. Russia and France are moving in this direction", Jean-Pierre Thomas, Representative of French President, France - Russia Business Relations Development

"In a few years’ time, we want to produce 50% of what we sell here in Russia itself. At the same time, the quality will be the same as in other countries", Gabor Kapus, Financial director, Schneider Electric

"We should not replace corporate investments with state ones; we should promote corporate investment", Martin Wittig, Chief Executive Officer, Roland Berger Strategy Consultants GmbH

"Competition among [national] jurisdictions should nudge the federal authorities towards harmonization on the basis of the most liberal models", Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

"It’s impossible to set up the Common Economic Space without creating specific mechanisms. The Common Economic Space is a fixed meal and not a restaurant menu where individual dishes can be selected", Tatiana Valovaya, Head of the Department of the International Cooperation, Government of the Russian Federation

"Business is 50-50 [on the issue of joining the WTO]..why should we swing the balance in favour of joining the WTO? We want international standards to predominate within our economic regulations", Alexander Shokhin, President, Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

"Preparing share offerings and businesses for sale must be done in a high-quality way. Privatization itself must be carried out transparently, and not in a rush. Good investors must be attracted and, if possible, one should sell for more",  Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

"I believe that a very important aspect of privatization is the question of whether foreign investors and our own investors wish to participate in this privatization in general" Vladimir Yakunin, President, Russian Railways JSC

"In terms of operational costs, Superjet is about 10% more efficient than its competitors", Mikhail Pogosyan, President, United Aircraft Corporation JSC

"I think it is very important that we [in Russia ] preserve our academic traditions in the field of aircraft construction, based on industry-specific institutes doing fundamental research", Mikhail Pogosyan, President, United Aircraft Corporation JSC

"Today only two countries, Russia and the United States, have technologies for building fifth generation fighters", Mikhail Pogosyan, President, United Aircraft Corporation JSC

"We understand that financing through PPPs is more transparent, understandable and predictable than financing from the budget, which can be long and delayed",  Kairat Kelimbetov, Minister of Economic Development and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan

"Like President Medvedev, we believe in private initiative. With regard to us, this does not mean that we have to take and build everything. It means organising the environment and state structures from both sides, so that they can move together with us",  Artem Volynets, Chief Executive Officer, En+

"What is really needed is government engagement", Lars H. Thunell, Executive Vice-President, Chief Executive Officer, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

"That is cooperation; that is synergy between all of us. This brings new value for all of us. This is a cross-cultural project", Alexei Ulyukaev, First Deputy Chairman, Central Bank of Russia

"This is human capital which can produce a lot of value for investors", Alexei Ulyukaev, First Deputy Chairman, Central Bank of Russia

"Germany is a developed BRIC",  Jim O’Neill, Chairman, Goldman Sachs Asset Management

"We do need long-term credit and long-term finance. I do not see the private sector being able to supply the whole package. Therefore, we do need public development banks; we do need strong multinational development banks to help bridge the gap",  Luciano Galvao Coutinho, President, Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES)

"We need to apply collective efforts to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Collective!", Yevgeny Primakov, President, Chairman, Mercury

"It is impossible to settle the problems of the Arab world using military means. It is impossible to impose democracy on the Arab world using force", Yevgeny Primakov, President, Chairman, Mercury

"We can’t give Egypt slip away", Walid Chammah, Chairman, Morgan Stanley International

"We have to translate what has been relatively good growth in the region into real development in the region", Dr. Jafar Hassan, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation, Jordan

"The aim of creating an International Finance Centre in Moscow is to ensure the flow of capital into Russia and the countries of the Eurasian Economic Community",  Igor Shuvalov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

"The introduction of a single currency will depend on the speed of integration of the IFC and at the moment the speed of integration is fairly high", Daniyar Akishev, Deputy Chairman, National Bank of Kazakhstan

"The technology by itself isn’t interesting; it becomes interesting only when it serves some of peoples’ important needs",  Igor Agamirzyan, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Executive Committee, Russian Venture Company OJSC

"The opportunity for innovation in emerging markets is immense and it is not only about technological innovation but also business model innovation", Bruno Di Leo, General Manager, Growth Markets, IBM Corporation

"Very little money is currently being spent efficiently on basic sciences in Russia. Basic sciences are the foundation for any innovative business. People who have passed through the school of basic sciences become real creators of new technologies",  Serguei Beloussov, Executive Chairman of the Board and Chief Architect, Parallels

"We [record companies] will be out of business very quickly if we do not provide valuable service to future talent in the market place", Kevin Lawrie, President, Europe & Africa, Sony Music

"I think a lot of the best music that will come in the future will be in non-English, because it will bring with it non-English rhythms, non-English musics, that will bring a freshness and a newness to the ears which will excite a new generation",  Peter Jenner, Producer, Music Manager, ex-Manager of Pink Floyd and The Clash, Visiting Professor in Music and Entertainment Industry Economics

"From my point of view, music is a kind of collective emotion, and these emotions are like us, that is, it’s a kind of diagnosis of what we are as a social group and what’s happening with us",  Alexei Kozin, General Director, Navigator Records

"Nuclear energy will be an indispensable component of the global energy balance over the next decade", Sergei Kirienko, Director General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ‘Rosatom’

"Nuclear energy is one of the most important drivers of innovative development", Sergei Kirienko, Director General, State Atomic Energy Corporation ‘Rosatom’

"It’s important to rebuild public confidence in nuclear power", Hon. Bill Richardson, Former Governor of New Mexico, U.S. Secretary of Energy and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the executive advisory service Global Political Strategies (GPS), APCO Worldwide

"Demand for energy will increase by 65% by the year 2035. And meeting this challenge will require a diverse energy portfolio", Hon. Bill Richardson, Former Governor of New Mexico, U.S. Secretary of Energy and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Chairman of the executive advisory service Global Political Strategies (GPS), APCO Worldwide

"Ten years ago, I bet $10,000 that Russia would be described as country No. 1 when it came to software development. And I won that bet", Esther Dyson, Chairman, EDventure Holdings

"Our horizons now extend to the entire world", Arkady Volozh, Chief Executive Officer, Yandex

"It can be stated quite unequivocally that the industry has been established: we are known, we are reckoned with and we are feared", Dmitry Loschinin, President, Chief Executive Officer, Luxoft

"Funds need to be focused on returns. Returns are the key",  Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"The middle class has almost tripled in the last five years in Russia",  Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"I’d say the most important feature to look at for foreign investors, and here I’m talking about the private equity landscape, is choosing your partners very, very carefully", Christopher M. Barter, Managing Director, Partner, Co-Head, Russia and CIS, Goldman Sachs

"What the industry [pharmaceuticals] needs primarily is predictability…we need to have a legal system that’s predictable and a government system that’s predictable", Hakan Bjorklund, Chief Executive Officer, Nycomed

"Healthcare, protection of the health of the people, is a direct obligation of the state in collaboration with businesses", Anatoly Artamonov, Governor of Kaluga region

"What Russian healthcare needs most of all, like the Russian economy generally is investment in change: structural change, institutional change and a change in people’s attitude towards their health", Lev Yakobson, First Vice Rector, State University – Higher School of Economics

"The key thing in the new production business is engineering. We need to be doing our own engineering as much as possible and creating new products. And as for the further commercialisation of these products, that’s an issue which we need to adopt from various manufacturers", Andrei Biryukov, General Manager, YO-AUTO Ltd

"The product, the brand, Prokhorov, and the team that makes all this are part and parcel of the same thing. And, ultimately, each of these components promotes and helps develop the business", Andrei Biryukov, General Manager, YO-AUTO Ltd

"APEC represents the most dynamically developing segment of the global economy", Andrei Slepnev, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation

"The Asia-Pacific region is increasingly a critical driver of economic growth; the economic futures of Russia and the United States are tied to each other and to other APEC economies, and this underscores the importance of our countries working together", John Beyrle, Ambassador of the United States of America to the Russian Federation

"We’re doing our favourite work [in Russia]. I’m not sure that we would be able to do it there [in the West]", George Pachikov, General director ParallelGraphics

"I believe it is possible to raise capital for Russian companies at the current moment, and more importantly it is possible at very attractive rates", Carsten Kengeter, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, UBS Investment Bank

"The question is how we bring people into Russia. We talk to a lot of investors globally, and they basically say two things: yes, we believe in Russia, you can generate good returns, but we need to have a partner because we won’t feel comfortable making our first investment without a partner. So the [Russian Direct Investment] Fund can be this partner for people who are making their first investment", Kirill Dmitriev, General Director, Russian Direct Investment Fund

"The Olympic Games are a fantastic shop window to the world. It’s amazing what the Olympic Games can do for a country`s brand", Mark Adams, Director of Communications, International Olympic Committee

"We want to show the world that Russia is more than just Moscow and St. Petersburg. The world will see a different Russia; the world will see how people live in the many different regions of Russia", Arkady Dvorkovich, Aide to the President of the Russian Federation

"There is no silver bullet solution but there are a lot of different areas where we can generate solutions for the future", Andreas Renschler, Member of the Management Board, Daimler AG

"We will only support pure electrical cars and plug-in hybrids", Miguel Sebastian, Minister of Industry, Tourism and Trade of Spain

"Gas is the most realistic and effective alternative to other engine fuels", Anatoly Paly, First Deputy General Director, Gazprom Gazenergoset

"Any instance of exposing piracy would most likely be supported by public opinion, while any means of prosecuting pirates would most likely be perceived negatively by the public",  Svetlana Mironyuk, Editor-in-Chief, RIA Novosti

"Intellectual property rights are one important element of the WTO rules, and joining the WTO and adopting the laws necessary to meet its requirements will help Russia create an environment conducive to growth and investment. Indeed, IP rights are a fundamental feature of a modern competitive economy",  Miriam Sapiro,
US Deputy Trade Representative, Office of the United States Trade Representative

"I think that there is no way that we are going to stop piracy. So, I think we have to compete with “free” by “feels free”. I think that is the key issue in how we can make payment invisible", Peter Jenner, Producer, Music Manager, ex-Manager of Pink Floyd and The Clash, Visiting Professor in Music and Entertainment Industry Economics

"It seems to me that one of the main issues that we face today in education is an imbalance between symbolism and content. We don’t ask where someone studied, we ask what they can do", Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

"In Russia, higher education is a symbol of validation. The employer perceives a person with a higher education as being in some sense more adequate than someone without it",  Andrei Fursenko, Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation

"In fact, we are speaking today about changes in the business model of the university. To meet the demands of the 21st century economy, universities are expected to be open to cooperation with society, corporations and the external professional community",  Valery Katkalo, Vice-rector, Graduate School of Management of Saint-Petersburg State University

"Russia should create the best system of technical engineering training in the world. This is an ambitious aim, but it is a vital one. It should be one of the strategic imperatives for Russia, as we won’t be able to solve many other problems unless we resolve this one", Vitaly Klintsov, Director, McKinsey & Company’s Moscow office

"Alexander Sakharov, General Director, A3 In general, people are ready to start switching over to a non-cash, electronic form [of payment]", Alexander Sakharov, General Director, A3

"It‘s critical to have a well-thought-out approach [to popularising electronic payments]. When we are constantly doing different things and rolling out different technologies and methodologies, people very often find this confusing", Alexander Sakharov, General Director, A3

"When we talk about start-ups – the saplings that through our joint efforts we are trying to plant, nourish, foster and care for, to ensure to a greater or lesser degree of success that in the future, these saplings actually produce real fruit, fruit for us – that, of course, is business",  Anatoly Chubais, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Board, RUSNANO

"We don’t take on a project without a co-investor. For us this is an important guarantee that the project has been selected wisely and that we can work with it", Anatoly Chubais, Chief Executive Officer, Chairman of the Executive Board, RUSNANO

"The importance of developing renewable energy sources in Russia is absolutely obvious to us. This stimulates the development of new production and technologies in Russia", Natallia Khanjenkova, Managing Director for Russia, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development

"The task faced by Skolkovo is, in fact, to learn how to cover that gap and transform the knowledge we have into the specific products needed so much by our country today", Victor Vekselberg, Chairman, Renova Group; President, SKOLKOVO Foundation

"Skolkovo is really an environment to take young people and give them the opportunity to succeed", Dr. Craig Barrett, Co-Chairman, Skolkovo Foundation Council

"I personally, and my company, believe that Skolkovo is a project that’s absolutely needed both in Russia and globally and I believe this project will be implemented", Sergey Kravchenko, President of Boeing-Russia/CIS

"In Silicon Valley, when you fail, you still get your badge of courage. In Russia, when you fail, it’s always something you can never accomplish. Anybody who isn’t willing to take risks and realise that you can fail isn’t going to get ahead in life", John Chambers, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CISCO Systems Inc.

"Yesterday, we heard the President of Russia talk about joining the WTO. China recognised the importance of that in joining the WTO a few years ago as a strategic move. This is a way to actually get industry to grow and get the market to play by international rules",  Prof. K. C. Chan, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of Hong Kong

"The Russians and the Chinese have a lot of similarities, including a “hangover from communism”, which both nations dislike",  Hu Shuli, Editor-in-Chief, CaiXin Media Company Ltd.

"The best industrial policy is one that encourages competitiveness", Vladimir Mau, Head of the Expert Group of the ‘Strategy 2020’ Project, Rector, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

"I don’t believe in political reform without a demand for political reform, in the same way I don’t believe in modernisation without demand for modernization", Vladimir Mau, Head of the Expert Group of the ‘Strategy 2020’ Project, Rector, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration

"If we want to be successful, not only do defence sector technologies need to be integrated into the civilian sector but vice versa, particularly in after-sales service",  Mikhail Pogosyan, President, United Aircraft Corporation JSC

"We see the world as the existence of competencies, and the existence of competencies on a given territory speaks to its level of development or underdevelopment",  Andrei Reus, General Director, Oboronprom United Industrial Corporation JSC

"The only industries that should be developing in the Caucasus today are those which are absolutely competitive, not only within Russia, but also beyond our country’s borders… Above all, this means tourism",  Alexander Khloponin, Deputy Prime Minister, Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation to the North Caucasian Federal District

"It has rightly been said that our main priority must be to ensure the security of investments coming into the region today. I can say with virtually 100% certainty that we are capable of ensuring the security of these investments",  Alexander Khloponin, Deputy Prime Minister, Plenipotentiary Envoy of the President of the Russian Federation to the North Caucasian Federal District

"People who return home after graduating from leading universities have a great impact on Chinese social and economic development", Cao Xiaonan, Lead Knowledge and Learning Officer for the Europe and Central Asia Region, World Bank

"We have the example of the very person who built St. Petersburg. Peter the Great went abroad, studied, came back and built a wonderful city", Igor Butman, Saxophone virtuoso, Jazz-bandleader

"The most important thing is that cinema is going beyond its boundaries; it’s becoming accessible to the great majority of people in terms of production and involvement", Nikita Trynkin, Chief Executive Officer, Bazelevs Group

"The forum is good for discussing the most urgent, the most vital issues in the development of our countries. We [the countries] want to talk to one another. We understand the influence we have on one another. We don’t hide our problems, we discuss them. It’s for exactly this reason that I am convinced of our future success", Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russian Federation   

"Our economy is just as changeable as the weather in St. Petersburg: one minute the sun is shining, the next it’s raining. But whatever the weather, we must work, and whatever the weather, we understand that sooner or later the sun will shine, and our countries will see sustainable growth and progress", Dmitry Medvedev, President of Russian Federation

"We need international collaboration in reforms in order to face the future",  Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland

"Money is not only money. Money has also a social dimension", Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland

"If we are united, we can better solve our problems, maintain the current level of welfare and ensure higher security for future generations. We believe in our common project. We believe in Europe, because the essence of Europe is unity",  Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain

"This serious crisis has laid bare our problems, and it should teach us that politics must be a part of the economic future", Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain

"All governments must find the resolve and the will to consider the interests of all countries as they would consider the interests of their own", Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Spain

"The global financial crisis led to deep economic cracks, which are now being filled in with an ever-growing volume of currency emissions. But this does not fix the fractures in the monolith of the global economy; it only disguises them. The answer to the key question of our plenary session – “How do we avoid future crises?” – is brief and simple enough: we must act quickly, carefully and purposefully to replace the ineffective financial architecture", Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan

"Global challenges define the need to end our dependency on raw materials and embrace sustainable, innovative development", Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the Republic of Kazakhstan