St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2019

I have to admit that before I was a member of the delegation, that represented our company on St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, before I started to pack my baggage, I had known very little about St. Petersburg.

As “the average bourgeois”, I heard smth about the Winter Palace. I also knew the fact, that it was the residence of the Russian Imperial Family. I knew, there is the Mariinsky Theatre (of Opera and Ballet). I also heard smth about Peterhof, e.g. Peter the Great ordered his court architects to build Peterhof as a response to the French Versailles.

You can imagine how impatiently I looked out the airplane window and saw the Pulkovo landing strip. The cultural program of our St. Petersburg visit was very rich.

Russia has made it like an occurrence, a tradition, I mean they hold different types of economic forums on different venues. We have seen, that all of them carry out different tasks. And the most impressive and representative platform was, of course, the Economic Forum in St. Petersburg.

Such forums provide interaction of potential foreign partners with their Russian colleagues, business entities and the Russian economy in general. As a result, we can see the creation of collaborative ventures, the investment treaty making, the establishment of trade and economic dialogue. These facts are indicators – the Russian economy is opened to contacts and partnership.

We regret how the global trade war is unfolding – countries exchange duties and threats. All this doesn’t contribute to the strengthening of partnership, but leads to the disintegration of the world economic area. Russia, as we all have already seen, adheres to the principle of maximal cooperation in the global market.

The President of Russia Vladimir Putin, when he welcomed the forum participants, said: “No doubt all of us are interested in maintaining peace and safety on our planet, in preserving and enhancing the cultural heritage of humanity, in ensuring that people all over the world have the opportunity to realize their potential, to get an education, a decent employment and to be confident in the future of their children.”

Any economy of any country is interested in investments – it is an axiom. It is also very important for Russia, almost more important than for other major global player in the world, because of the specifics of the economy. It is like God tells us to take advantage of it.

Every year more and more companies enter into joint contracts, as Günter from the German delegation said. When the results were summed up, there were nearly 600 contracts, that were concluded in 2018. The total value of the contracts was over 2,6 trillion rubles. And our company also got a big piece from this delicious pie.

We all convinced that the key mission of the International Economic Forum, that has been held in St. Petersburg since 1997, is to be a practical tool for business, the use of which makes it possible to overcome various barriers, that divide Russia and other countries.

In conclusion I would like to add some words about the cultural program. During the time of forum there was also the International festival of circus art on the Fontanka Street, in which circus artists from more than 17 countries participate. Also these days the XXVI International Music Festival “The Palaces of St. Petersburg, the opening concert of this festival was “Outstanding Voices of the XXI century”, takes place takes place in the Armorial Hall of the State Hermitage Museum. People who like musical theatre heard the best voices at the XXVI International Music Festival “The Stars of the White Nights”.

As for me, I am going to visit St. Petersburg again. One other international economic forum starts on June 6. I hope I will have time to go for a walk in the Summer Garden, to visit the Hermitage, the Peter and Paul Fortress, the observation desk of St. Isaak’s Cathedral.

What is the most important, I hope, that my colleagues and I will find new partners and sign more than only one contract.

We already know that President Putin sent a welcoming message to the participants, organizers and guests of the XXVI St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, in which he, in particular, wrote:

«... We need a strong and efficient economy, fair and clear rules of global trade, free exchange of investments and technologies, and healthy and fair competition. Russia is opened to active, equal cooperation with all countries, regional and international organizations to ensure overall economic growth, the development of transport, energy and telecommunications infrastructure, in promoting integration processes, including in Eurasian and Asian-Pacific spaces.»

I want to believe these word