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First Day of Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona Comes to a Close

First Day of Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona Comes to a Close

The organizers of the XII Eurasian Economic Forum in Verona - the Roscongress Foundation, St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and Italian non-profit Conoscere Eurasia Association - have officially concluded the first day’s business programme. The day’s events included four sessions dedicated to cooperation in the Eurasian space.

Participants of the special session ‘Systemic challenges of the global energy’ discussed a wide range of issues related to the development of the global energy sector: sustainable energy development, changes in the structure of the global energy balance, the role of political factors in the volatility of the energy market, as well as the role of natural gas in the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Rosneft President and CEO Igor Sechin presented the session’s key report. He discussed the fundamental factors that will affect the development of the energy sector in the coming decades and the prospective development of shale oil extraction and green energy.

“Despite the difficulties it is facing, the global energy industry has enormous potential for further development,” said Igor Sechin. “It is important to address the issue of satisfying increasing energy demands while simultaneously reducing emissions. It is clear that oil and gas will remain the key resources for solving this issue in the long run.” 

The session was also attended by Eni President Emma Marcegaglia, BP Group Chief Executive Robert Dudley, Glencore International AG Chief Executive Officer Ivan Glasenberg, Equinor’s Executive Vice President of Exploration Tim Dodson, VTB Bank President and Chairman of the Management Board Andrey Kostin, President of the Foundation for Worldwide Cooperation and Former Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi, German Committee on Eastern European Economic Relations Executive Director Michael Harms, and Banca Intesa Russia President and Conoscere Eurasia Association President Antonio Fallico.

The session ‘Can business play a constructive role in the geopolitics of today?’ discussed businesses’ participation in shaping state policy with regards to regional cooperation. Participants noted that risk factors for businesses include unfair competition in the form of unclear rules of interaction, protectionary measures, and sanction policies of individual states.

The event included the participation of the Dean of the Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs at the Higher School of Economics Sergey Karaganov, Director General of the European Commission's Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development Stefano Manservisi, Minister of Trade of the Eurasian Economic Commission Veronika Nikishina, Chief Executive Officer of the Association of European Businesses Frank Schauff, and President of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) Alexander Shokhin, among others.

The RSPP President noted that there is significant potential for the further development of cooperation within the B20, which could be achieved by implementing a unified cooperation mechanism, maintaining agendas and forms of cooperation, and collaborating to implement previous chairmanships’ priorities.

“In their recommendations to heads of state, businesses are trying to convey universal values, including the proposal of socially oriented measures and measures to reduce administrative barriers,” said Shokhin.

The session ‘The role of natural gas in helping Europe to achieve its energy security and meet its climate change goals’ was dedicated to the growing importance of natural gas as a source of energy that meets green demands. Another subject of discussion was the role of legislation in ensuring the reliability of Europe's fuel supply.

The session featured Chairman of the Management Board and Member of the Board of Directors of Novatek Leonid Mikhelson, Gazprom Deputy Chairman and Gazprom Export Director General Elena Burmistrova, Chairman of Creon Capital Fares Kilzie, and Chairman of Bosphorus Energy Club Mehmet Öğütçü.

“Natural gas has clear advantages compared to other extractive resources. It is already a key fuel in many energy systems, including the European one. Today, Europe's natural gas transport system includes over 200,000 km of pipelines and more than 30 regasification terminals. 20% of Europe's electricity is gas-generated and the growing use of natural gas will allow for the reduction of omissions at lower costs in the future. Especially at today's low prices. Novatek’s resource base is located on the Yamal and Gyda Peninsulas. This region’s reserves are on par with those of Qatar. Novatek has been working in this region for 25 years now and has gained significant technological experience, allowing us to have one of the lowest gas production costs in the world,” said Leonid Mikhelson.

The session ‘Creating the economy of trust between the Atlantic and the Pacific’ discussed the roles of regions and regional projects in creating a unified space of trust and cooperation across Greater Eurasia and the necessity of developing unified laws for doing business sustainably and responsibly.

The session featured presentations by First Deputy Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan Laziz Kudratov, First Deputy Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexey Orlov, Mayor of Turin Chiara Appendino, and General Director and Chairman of the Board of SME Corporation Alexander Braverman.

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