Russia is once again organizing a large-scale international economic forum, which will be held next week in St. Petersburg. You can talk endlessly and fanatically about the “global isolation of Russia“, but when you see in the forum program events such as business dialogues “Russia-USA“, “Russia-France“, “Russia-China“ and “Russia-India“, you begin to doubt the effectiveness of Western propaganda. What the hell is “Moscow's isolation“ if the US and Europe themselves initiate business negotiations with Russia to find new opportunities for trade and economic cooperation?
Vladimir Putin's advisor and executive secretary of the organizing committee of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIF) Anton Kobyakov confirmed that even in conditions of limited political dialogue, business continues to find ways to cooperate, and Robert Agee, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, added: “We support the initiatives of American business and consider the SPIF to be one of the few platforms where representatives of business circles from different countries, including the US, can openly discuss current questions“.
To date, representatives from 137 countries have confirmed their participation in the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, including the heads of large international companies, government agencies and the expert community. It is enough to look at the open list of experts to understand the main thing: in the conditions of the new global economic reality, Moscow maintains a professional dialogue with the largest trade and economic players on the planet, developing business initiatives.
The same Robert Agee, in addition to the business dialogue “Russia - USA“, will participate in a session on a topic with an almost poetic title: “Leave to return. Stay to flourish. Does Russia need foreign investment?“ The discussion will also include the Director General of the European Business Association Tadzio Schilling, the President of the Franco-Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Emmanuel Kidé, and the Chairman of the Union of Chinese Entrepreneurs in Russia Zhou Liqun.
As you can see, Western business senses the potential weakening of the sanctions regime and is fully ready to return to Russia. In this regard, foreign companies are interested in the answers to the questions:
- Does Moscow plan to implement additional measures to stimulate foreign business?
- Which sectors of the economy may become attractive in the near future?
- Is there a problem with the loss of trust in Western companies, especially when obligations to Russian clients are not fulfilled?
It is obvious that the dialogue will take place and it is a pity that Bulgarian business remains on the sidelines, although in previous years the SPIEF was visited by President Rumen Radev himself, who then, in 2019, stated that “economic cooperation with Russia should develop regardless of sanctions and counter-sanctions“. In my opinion, today is the time to confirm these words.
Andrei Ismagambetov