SPIEF 2019 kicks off in St. Petersburg

The 23rd annual International Economic Forum (SPIEF) kicks off in Russia’s city of St. Petersburg at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center The forum will be held on June 6-8 under a motto of 'Creating a Sustainable Development Agenda.'

The forum will focus on a sustainable development agenda, with four key topics: 'The Global Economy in Search of a Balance', 'The Russian Economy: Achieving National Development Goals', 'Technologies Shaping the Future' and 'People First'. 

This morning the following panel sessions were held within the forum: 'SCO Without Borders: Integration of Transport Infrastructure', 'The Russian Economy Seeking Ways to Boost Growth', 'Co-Creating the Future. Business Solutions for Realizing Sustainable Development Goals', 'The Power of Youth and the Next Generation of Global Business', 'Partnerships Between the State and Society to Provide Social Guarantees' and others.

There will be a wide exchange of views on trade, investment, finance, energy, innovation and high technology, demography, and the environment. The programme also includes the B20 Regional Consultation Forum, as well as the Russian Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Forum and the International Youth Economic Forum.

The main event of the forum will be a plenary session, which will feature speeches by Vladimir Putin, President of the People's Republic of China Xi Jinping, President of Bulgaria Rumen Radev, Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan, Prime Minister of Slovakia Peter Pellegrini, and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

On the sidelines of the forum, the President of Russia will traditionally hold separate meetings with representatives of global news agencies, the international investment community and major foreign companies. Vladimir Putin’s schedule also includes a number of bilateral meetings with heads of state and government, as well as the leadership of international organisations.

Over the past two decades, SPIEF, which has been held since 1997, has become one of the leading global platforms to discuss global economic issues.

The SPIEF is attended by more than 10 thousand people from more than 140 countries every year. Since 2005, Russia's president has been taking part in the forum.