The 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum took place on 5–8 June 2024 and brought together leaders of major Russian and global companies, as well as representatives of government agencies and the political and scientific community to establish business contacts, find new partners, discuss promising projects, and exchange opinions on current political and economic trends on global and regional markets.
This year, the Forum events were attended by 21,800 people from 139 countries and territories. The freedom of various world powers to choose their own political and economic affiliation was confirmed by the SPIEF 2024 slogan: ‘The Formation of New Areas of Growth as the Cornerstone of a Multipolar World’. The Forum resulted in the signing of 1,073 agreements valued at RUB 6.492 trillion (this figure only includes agreements whose amount is not a commercial secret), including 55 with representatives of international companies.
PARTICIPANTS
The SPIEF 2024 broke its previous records in terms of the number of participants. More than 120 high-ranking foreign officials took part in the Forum events, including heads of international organizations and associations, diplomatic missions, and foreign cities and regions, as well as ministers of foreign affairs. The largest delegations came from China with 192 participants, the UAE – 105, Zimbabwe – 86, Kazakhstan – 84, India – 80, and Oman – 75. From the Russian side, the Forum was attended by 40 high-ranking officials, 30 heads of federal services and agencies, and 81 heads of Russia’s regions.
More than 8,300 representatives of Russian and foreign businesses took part in the Forum. Foreign businesses were represented at the Forum by over 480 companies from 94 countries and territories, while Russian businesses were represented by over 3,300 companies. The unprecedented interest from domestic and foreign media outlets is evidenced by the number of journalists who covered the Forum events: more than 4,216 people from 34 countries.
GUEST COUNTRY
This year, the Sultanate of Oman had the honorary status of guest country at the SPIEF. The country’s delegation was headed by Oman Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Investment Promotion Qais bin Mohammed Al-Yousef. Oman took part in the Forum with the aim of studying opportunities for the implementation of joint projects in such promising areas of interstate cooperation as industry, energy, tourism, science and technology, logistics, and food security. Members of the extensive Omani delegation, which included businessmen, diplomats, and officials, confirmed their desire to “cooperate with Russian enterprises and see more tourists in their country.”
PLENARY SESSION
The key event of the Forum was the plenary session, which featured speeches by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Bolivian President Luis Alberto Arce Catacora and Zimbabwean President Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa.
In his speech, Vladimir Putin spoke about structural changes that will be actively supported by the government, the achievements made in the Russian economy, existing problems in the country and around the world, and a wide range of geopolitical issues, including themes related to BRICS. The leaders of Bolivia and Zimbabwe reported about issues on the current international agenda.
BUSINESS PROGRAMME
The business programme featured numerous sessions as part of four thematic pillars: ‘Goals and Objectives of Russia’s New Economic Cycle’, ‘The Transition to a Multipolar World Economy’, ‘Technologies for Leadership’, and ‘A Healthy Society, Traditional Values and Social Development: The Priority of the State’.
The main theme of this year’s programme was national sovereignty in political, economic, and cultural relations. Most of the discussions concerned economic priorities, opportunities for trade, technological, scientific, and industrial cooperation, financial culture as a driver of economic development, digital e-commerce, banking services, global food security amidst the economic restrictions imposed by countries of the collective West, and other economic-related areas.
INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
The Forum’s Russian and foreign guests were actively involved in such events as the Russian-African Conference ‘Water: More Precious than Gold’, the EAEU–ASEAN session, and business dialogues with representatives of Azerbaijan, Brazil, Venezuela, India, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Oman, South Africa, African, and Latin American countries.
The Forum participants paid particular attention to new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation between BRICS countries given the organization’s planned expansion. Experts noted that BRICS members already account for more than a third of the global economy today and discussed ways to build an independent system of international financial transactions and promising transport corridors, cooperate in matters concerning the digital economy, and much more.
CULTURAL PROGRAMME
The programme of the St. Petersburg Seasons Festival at SPIEF 2024 included more than 40 events. Leading cultural institutions of St. Petersburg prepared extravagant programmes, unique sightseeing tours, film screenings, and exhibitions especially for the Forum’s guests and participants. A unique exhibition was opened to mark the 225th anniversary of Alexander Pushkin’s birth at the ExpoForum, the SPIEF venue. The Forum’s participants and guests were presented with the poet’s drawings and handwritten lines from the poem ‘The Miserly Knight’.
SPORTS PROGRAMME
The SPIEF 2024 Sport Games featured more than 20 events in 18 sports. Athletes from ten countries took part in tournaments as part of the Forum, including such international events as the Igor Chentsov sailing regatta, the Gold of Ladoga multi-day cycling race, and the Loko Cup club judo tournament. The country’s best boxers took part in the super final of the Victory Cup boxing tournament. The ‘Towards the Friendship Games’ run was attended by roughly 1,600 people, including representatives of the UAE delegation headed by Minister of Economy Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri.
.jpg?167843695035516)
%20.jpg?167843695237296)
