World gathers for Economic Forum in Russia

[North Pole Resident]

More than 120 delegations from every corner of the world are converging on Saint Petersburg for the city’s annual International Economic Forum, which starts on Friday. Organisers hope signed contracts will surpass last year’s total of $US 13.5 billion.

VIDEO - RussiaToday : Business : World gathers for St. Pete Economic Forum

RussiaToday : Business : High hopes for St. Pete’s Economic Forum

Official web-site - Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum

With the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and so many other decision-makers attending, analysts claim it’s set to overtake Davos as the top gathering of business leaders and politicians.

The presentation of St. Petersburg's new commodities exchange, a joint venture between Severstal and Fiat to build diesel engines and the first flight of Sukhoi's SuperJet 100 are all high on the forum's agenda.

The head of the Forum Fund, Anton Troyanov, says sealing deals at the forum is more of a symbolic gesture.

“The forum is a place for meeting and exchanging ideas, not for official ceremonies. Experienced people understand that real business doesn't happen at forums. Deals are sealed elsewhere, but a forum such as this one is a good place to present these deals to the public,” he said.

And others argue it's not the contracts or the amount of attracted investment that make the St. Petersburg forum Russia's main economic event of the year.

“It s not about making deals or improving business, it’s more about advancing the image of Russia as an important investment place and providing information and possibilities for the investors to understand that Russia is different to how it is portrayed in the west,” Aleksandr Izosimov, Vimpelcom CEO, said.

RussiaToday : Business : World gathers for St. Pete Economic Forum

Questions and answers

Which significant personages are most likely to be attending the Forum?

Answer:

A list of those individuals who have confirmed their participation in the XII SPIEF and a list of participants of the XI Forum will be exhibited on the Forum website on 15 March 2008.


What are the topics of these plenary sessions (and what are the other questions of the program)? When will the program be made available? When will the key topics be made available? Who are going to be the key speakers?

Answer:

The program is currently underway. When it is approved by the Organizational Committee, it will be displayed at the Forum website (until 12 March).


Will we be able to attend the plenary session in which the President will be taking the floor?

Answer:

All official Forum participants can take part in the plenary session. Invitations to the restricted access events of the business program will be sent by the Organizational Committee individually.


How many assistants can be registered? Will all of them be approved by the Organizational Committee?

Answer:

You can register one assistant.


After having registered at the Forum website, how long does it take to get a confirmation of my participation from the Forum Organizational Committee?

Answer:

The coordination process usually takes 10 working days.

Questions and answers

[Mikeyy]

I am the second largest supplier of nulei in the world. So if this is such a big conference why didn't they invite me?.