MOSCOW, June 17. /TASS/. Politicians and statesmen from about 50 countries will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) this year, Russian presidential aide Yury Ushakov told reporters.
"In total, statesmen and politicians from about 50 countries will come to St. Petersburg," he said.
Among the main foreign participants, Ushakov named in particular Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Prince Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, the National Security Advisor to the King of Bahrain, Abkhazian President Badra Gunbu, and the leader of the Republika Srpska (an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milorad Dodik.
"By the way, Dodik comes to the St. Petersburg forum almost every year," the diplomat noted.
The list of the high-ranking guests also includes South Ossetian Prime Minister Konstantin Dzhussoyev, Yemeni Vice President Tariq Saleh, South African Vice President Paul Mashatile, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, and the Vice Prime Ministers of Azerbaijan, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vietnam, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Myanmar, Tanzania, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
"There are many Vice Prime Ministers who are involved in trade and economic issues," the Kremlin representative explained. He added that there will be many ministers from the economic bloc. These are representatives from Algeria, Afghanistan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Hungary, Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Zimbabwe, India, Cameroon, Qatar, the Republic of Congo, Cuba, Mozambique, Mongolia, the UAE, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Turkey, and the Central African Republic of South Sudan.
"A fairly representative company of people who directly conduct business in their countries," Ushakov noted.
The forum will also be attended by the heads of a number of international organizations - the African Export-Import Bank, the New Development Bank of BRICS, the Eurasian Development Bank, the Eurasian Economic Commission, the CSTO, OPEC, the CIS, the Union State, the SCO, and the Black Sea Trade and Development Bank.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) will take place on June 18-21. This year, the event will be held under the theme "Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World." Thematic zones such as the ‘Territory of Innovations’ and the national brand space ‘Buy Russian!’ will operate at the Forum.
The program includes the SME Forum, the Creative Industries Forum, the Day of the Future International Youth Economic Forum, the Drug Security Forum, and the Roscongress Urban Hub discussion platform. As part of the cultural program, the Petersburg Seasons festival will be held, and the SPIEF Sports Games will take place.
The Roscongress Foundation is the organizer of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. TASS is its information partner.