St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is an annual international conference dedicated to economic and business issues. Since 2005, it has been held with the direct participation and under the patronage of the President of the Russian Federation. Every year, representatives of international political and business circles, public organizations and the media take part in the work of the SPIEF.
Forum participants gather annually to discuss key topical issues facing not only Russia, but the whole world. This is the largest event that allows them to receive up-to-date information at first hand and to take part in the most interesting discussions concerning the issues of the global economy. In recent years, one of the main topics has become the role of the developing economy in shaping the regional and global agenda.
The initial goal of organizing the “Russian Davos” - the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, was to articulate the problems of the country's economy, present regional investment projects at it, and position Russia’s place in the world economic system. By now, the forum has become a symbol of business cooperation, which makes it possible to discuss and solve a variety of economic problems - from the macroeconomic situation to cultural issues. This gives the forum a grandeur, but makes it less practical than highly specialized events.
Nevertheless, every year the number of agreements and contracts that are signed at the forum is growing. So the last, 16th, which took place in St. Petersburg at the end of June 2012, became a record - 84 agreements were concluded on it, 9 of them for a total amount exceeding 360 billion rubles. Loan agreements amounted to 164.4 billion rubles in this amount. Such high results can be explained by the large number of participants. The total number of applications filed was 5347.
The forum is hosted by heads of state, representatives of foreign and Russian business, heads of major companies, including participants in the Forbes and Fortune ratings. As part of the business program, plenary sessions are held in which leading world experts on economic issues participate, more than 30 sections work, dozens of presentations, press conferences and investment agreements signing ceremonies are held.
Every year the agenda is formed taking into account the current situation and prevailing trends in the world economy, those urgent problems posed by the processes of globalization. The proposed solutions are aimed at intensifying economic growth and social progress.
