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Results of the First Day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017

Results of the First Day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017

Results of the First Day of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 opened on June 1, 2017 with its events united under the slogan ‘Achieving a New Balance in the Global Economic Arena’. The Forum’s primary objective is to offer a constructive and open dialogue to discuss the main ways in which the global community is developing.

The Forum programme offers different formats for business communication. A total of 61 events took place at Forum sites on the first day alone, including panel sessions, roundtables, and TV debates, among others. The discussions focused on five main pillars: ‘Dynamics of the Global Economy’; ‘Russian Economic Agenda’; ‘Embracing Tech Disruptors’; ‘Focus on the Human Factor’; and ‘Foresight Series’.

The Governor of St. Petersburg welcomed the participants at the Forum’s Opening Ceremony. In particular, Georgy Poltavchenko said: “We are pleased to see that the Forum has become a truly effective mechanism for communication between the leaders of states and governments, major international companies, industry leaders, representatives of the business community, and the media.” The opening ceremony was attended by such high-ranking guests as Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres, acting Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Serbia Ivica Dačić, Prime Minister of Mongolia Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat, and Prime Minister of the Gabonese Republic Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet.

The following key themes were discussed during the sessions:

·       ‘Made in Russia: Creating a National Brand’, which raised issues concerning the creation and promotion of a Russian national brand on the external market. The discussion was attended by Minister of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation Denis Manturov, Head of Project ‘Made in Russia’ at the Roscongress Foundation Mikhail Sadchenkov, and Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation Vladimir Dmitriev

·       ‘Injecting Dynamism in the Russian Far East Economy’, at which presentations were given by representatives of both the Russian legislative and executive authorities as well as investors who have already invested in the development of the Far East

·       ‘Destination Russia – Shifting Trends Towards Domestic and Incoming Tourism’, at which the participants discussed priorities for developing the industry: creating infrastructure, improving the quality of tourism service, and the effective promotion of tourism on the domestic and foreign markets

·       ‘Globalization Revisited: Is Every Country on Its Own Now?’ The session was organized by the Valdai Club. The discussion was devoted to the new situation in the global economy as a result of the election of the new US President Donald Trump. The session participants discussed the future of global trade and other institutions under these new conditions, and presentations were made about the views of both financiers and politicians from several global powers – China, the US, and Russia

·       ‘The Development of the Legal Audio and Video Content Market’. The session was opened by Director of the Department of International Financial Integration at the International Investment Bank (IIB) Alan Thompson, who pointed out the impressive growth seen in the global market for audio and video content consumption

·       ‘The Changing Economics of Transportation and Logistics’, which featured discussions of changes in the spatial economy and the development of the transportation system. The session participants included: Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Maxim Sokolov, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Fang Liu, Deputy Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation Anton Inyutsyn, and Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Uber Technologies Inc. Pierre-Dimitri Gore-Coty.

The main programme of the Forum’s first day concluded with the awarding of the ‘Business Book of the Year in Russia’ prize.

The exhibition of SPIEF Investment & Business Expo for Russian and foreign investment projects primarily focused on the presentation of investment opportunities in the regions as well as the presentation of innovative projects by Russian companies.

A ceremony was held at the Forum to cancel the postage stamp ‘100th Anniversary of Izvestia Newspaper’. The event, which was timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the publication of the first issue of Izvestia newspaper (March 13, 1917), was attended by: Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Chief of Government Staff Sergei Prikhodko, Federal Communications Agency Director Oleg Dukhovnitsky, National Media Group Director General Olga Paskina, and Izvestia Editor-in-Chief Arseny Oganesyan.

The SPIEF Presentation Area with the support of EY brought together Russian and foreign investors, company executives, and representatives of the government authorities, who discussed prospects for the implementation of regional and federal projects in the country. The operator of the presentation area was the TASS Russian News Agency. The extensive presentation programme featured various business events with the participation of Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Region Government and Minister of Investments and Innovations of the Moscow Region Denis Butsayev, Director of the Sevastopol Development Corporation Nikolay Brusnikin, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky, and First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Igor Shuvalov.

Other prominent figures taking part in the Forum include Prime Minister of the Gabonese Republic Emmanuel Issoze-Ngondet; Prime Minister of Mongolia Jargaltulgyn Erdenebat; Vice President of the Republic of Zimbabwe Phelekezela Mphoko; Second Vice President of the Republic of Burundi Joseph Butore, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Belarus Vasily Matyushevsky; Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of the Economy, Minister of Internal Security, and Minister of Defence of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Etienne Schneider; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Economic Integration and Reforms of the Republic of Armenia Vache Gabrielyan; Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Entrepreneurship, and Crafts of the Republic of Croatia Martina Dalić; and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Uzbekistan Gulomzhon Ibragimov.

A number of agreements on investments as well as memorandums and agreements of intent were signed on June 1. According to public sources, 174 agreements valued at a total of RUB 386.7 billion were signed (agreements whose amount does not constitute a commercial secret).

The biggest agreements included:

·       An agreement between St. Petersburg and the Eurasian Development Bank on participation in the construction of the Eastern Freeway for a total of RUB 150 billion

·       An agreement between St. Petersburg and VTB Bank on the implementation of an investment project to build a high-speed city highway for a total of RUB 110 billion

·       An agreement on intent between St. Petersburg and Alex Fitness for RUB 13.1 billion

·       A cooperation agreement between the Moscow Region Government and SPEM for RUB 12.6 billion

·       An agreement on socio-economic cooperation between the Leningrad Region Government and Primorsk-Development for RUB 12 billion

The agreements aim to develop cooperation between companies, agencies, and the regions of the Russian Federation in such areas as telecommunications, education and science, the power industry, medicine, transportation, banking and investment activities, the socio-economic development of the regions, the implementation of investment projects, and the development of trade, economic, scientific, technical, social, and cultural cooperation between the regions.

The agreement signees included: Ministry of Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology of the Russian Federation, Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, VEB State Corporation, Russian Railways, Rosatom State Corporation, Gazprom, Rosneft, Lukoil, PHILIPS, Bayer, Ica Construction, Coalco, Siemens, X5 Retail Group, Sberbank, Gazprombank, URALSIB Bank, VTB, Alfa-Bank, Pochta Bank, AFK Sistema, Gazprom Neft, NOVATEK, FinTech Association, Procter & Gamble, Russian Agricultural Bank, AHML (Agency for Housing Mortgage Lending), SAP, Yandex, MegaFon, 1C, Roscosmos State Corporation, RusHydro, Rostelecom, United Shipbuilding Corporation, United Shipbuilding Corporation, EuroChem, Leto Group, Renault Russia, Auction House of the Russian Federation, Roscongress Foundation as well as the regions of the Russian Federation.

In addition to the business programme, the Forum’s Organizing Committee also prepared an extensive cultural and sporting programme for participants.

The cultural programme included a large number of charitable events. In particular, the Mikhailovsky Theatre held a gala concert as part of the Year Against Melanoma featuring some of ballet’s best-known international stars, including Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Denis Rodkin, Irina Perren, and Marat Shemiunov.

On the same day, a welcome party was organized on behalf of the Chairman of the SPIEF 2017 Organizing Committee. Guests included Russian and foreign statesmen, the main Forum speakers and moderators, and the CEOs of large corporations listened to performances by vocal and instrumental groups in the style of popular jazz and pop.

An opening ceremony was held for a musical fountain on Trade Square in Peterhof on May 31.

Yuri Bashmet and the All-Russian Youth Symphony Orchestra performed at the concert hall of the Mariinsky Theatre on June 1.

The SPIEF 2017 sporting programme started on May 31 with a gala hockey match. Teams from St. Petersburg and Moscow comprised of prominent Russian politicians, businessmen, artists, and athletes held a gala basketball match called ‘VTB Arena Open: Showdown between the Two Capitals’ for the Roscongress Cup on June 1. v


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