Business programme

Welcome Remark
Alexander Beglov, Governor of St. Petersburg

Alexander Beglov

Governor of St. Petersburg

Moderator
Alexandra Suvorova, Anchor, Russia 24 TV Channel

Alexandra Suvorova

Anchor, Russia 24 TV Channel

Panellists
H.H. Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, UAE Supreme Council Member
Andrey Belousov, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation
Manuel Marrero Cruz, Prime Minister of the Republic of Cuba
Zhang Ming, Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
Benedict Okey Oramah, President, Chairman of the Board of Directors, African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Andrey Belousov

First Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation

Born March 17, 1959.

Education:
1981: Graduated with honours from the Lomonosov Moscow State University, Department of Economics.
DSc (Economics).

Experience:
1981-1986: Intern researcher, junior researcher at the Central Economic Mathematical Institute at the USSR Academy of Sciences, man-machine system modelling laboratory.
1986-2006: Junior researcher, researcher, senior researcher, laboratory head at the Institute of Economics and Scientific and Technical Progress Forecasts at the USSR Academy of Sciences (later Institute of National Economy Prognostication at the Russian Academy of Sciences).
2000-2006: General director, Centre for Macroeconomic Analyses and Short-Term Prognostication.
2000-2006: External adviser to the Prime Minister.
2006-2008: Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade, Deputy Minister of Economic Development.
2008-May 2012: Director, Government Department of Economy and Finance.
May 21, 2012: Appointed Minister of Economic Development by Presidential Executive Order.
From 24 June 2013, Presidential Aide, appointed by executive order of the President of Russia.

Zhang Ming

Secretary General, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

Born in June 1957 in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, graduated from the Faculty of Asian and African Languages of the Beijing University of Foreign Studies, has a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Since 1983, he has worked in the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, at the Chinese Embassy in P.D.R. Yemen, and at the Chinese Embassy in the Sultanate of Oman.

1992-1997 Deputy Director of the Department of West Asian and North African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China;

1997-2001 First Secretary, Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in the State of Israel;

2001-2006 Deputy Director-General of the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China;

2006-2009 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of China to the Republic of Kenya, Permanent Representative to UNEP and Permanent Representative to UN-Habitat;

2009-2010 Director-General of the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China;

2010-2011 Director-General of the General Office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China;

2011-2013 Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of China;

2013-2017 Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China;

2017-2021 Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of the Chinese Mission to the European Union;

2022 — Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Benedict Okey Oramah

President, Chairman of the Board of Directors, African Export–Import Bank (Afreximbank)

Prof. Benedict O. Oramah is the President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export – Import Bank (“Afreximbank” or the “Bank”). As the President of Afreximbank, Prof Oramah has grown the Bank significantly and improved its global appeal and relevance to the African continent. For instance, the Bank is playing a leading role in the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), which is the most significant multilateral development on the continent for decades. Prof Oramah is leading the creation and deployment of very innovative digital platforms that will boost intra-regional trade and investments by revolutionizing cross border payments and improving access to quality trade information. Under his leadership, Afreximbank is supporting the harmonization of Standards and the development of quality infrastructure across Africa as part of a wider industrialization and export development strategy. As Chair of the Board of Trustees of the African Union COVID-19 Response Fund, President Oramah is helping to coordinate grant mobilization and efficient utilization across Africa as well as coordinating the procurement and distribution of medical supplies among African countries. He is also leading other continental and private sector initiatives to scale up Africa’s health and economic response to the pandemic. As a recognition for his achievements, Prof. Oramah has received several honours and awards including his recent decoration by H.E. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, with the Russian State award of the Order of Friendship in 2019. Also, in 2019, he was bestowed with the “Knight of the National Order” by the Cameroonian Government and in the same year, he received an Honorary Doctor of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. In 2017, Prof. Oramah was voted African Banker of the year by the African Banker Magazine.