SPIEF 2022: Russia–Latin America – expanding cooperation
Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation Anton Kobyakov met with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Cuba to the Russian Federation Julio Garmendia Peña in Moscow.
The participants discussed the development of trade and economic relations between the countries. Formats for cooperation between the states are constantly expanding: recent bilateral initiatives include the idea of forming a high-level inter-parliamentary commission, proposed by Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin during his recent visit to Havana in February 2022.
“It is important to create a comfortable environment for implementing joint projects and supporting initiatives of the business community. Despite certain circumstances, 90 countries confirmed their participation in SPIEF 2022 – these numbers are really impressive. We will do our best to keep out international participants’ confidentiality. It will ensure trust between us,” noted Anton Kobyakov.
The Cuban delegation traditionally takes an active part in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, whose business programme includes Russia–Latin America business dialogue. Meeting participants noted the role of SPIEF as a successful international platform for dialogue on key issues on the global agenda and discussed the participation of the Cuban delegation in SPIEF 2022.
"From our side, the Minister of Energy and Mines of the Republic of Cuba, Raúl García Barreiro, and his deputy, Raúl García Barreiro, have already confirmed their participation. We are on the way to modernizing and diversifying national economies, dynamically increasing the pace of cooperation. Long-term projects will help increase the sustainability of trade and economic ties," stressed Julio Garmendía Peña.
A topic for discussion was the presentation of the SPIEF 2022 programme for representatives of Latin American diplomatic missions, which took place the previous day in Moscow in the House of Latin America. Participants included Sergei Cheremin, Minister of the Moscow Government and Head of the Department for External Economic and International Relations; Alexey Valkov, Director of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum; Oleg Firer, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Grenada to the Russian Federation and the CIS; Pavel Shevtsov, Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo, and others.
Sergei Cheremin told the audience that his department will organize two events as part of SPIEF 2022 and invited participants to a business breakfast to be held on 16 June at the Sofitel Hotel. The discussion will focus on Moscow’s development strategy, the city’s latest achievements, and sharing best practices with key metropolitan areas in Latin America. Participants will discuss the pace of development of Moscow’s construction industry, the performance of its transport complex, as well as innovations in healthcare and medicine, education and the social sphere.
“It is important to build on the trust the countries have been developing for years now. SPIEF is a platform that will help focus on the key areas of cooperation and find new growth points, discuss the outlook for investment cooperation between Russia and Latin America, as well as government support for Russian and Latin American businesses and the development of integration in Eurasia, Latin American and Caribbean countries,” shared Alexey Valkov.
The 25th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will take place on 15–18 June 2022.
