At the final press conference at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on June 8, Russian presidential adviser and Executive Secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee Anton Kobyakov summarized some of the breakthroughs which had occurred during the four-day conference. According to RT, Kobyakov claimed that almost 1,000 deals and contracts had been signed, valued at more than 6.43 trillion rubles ($71.87 billion); that 21,300 people attended from 139 countries; and that 3,550 companies from more than 90 countries participated.
In addition, Kobyakov noted that there are now 59 countries which have expressed their willingness to join BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), and the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). These groupings “are providing new members with opportunities to boost cooperation in new formats of the multipolar development concept,” he said, adding that, “Now most of the Earth’s inhabitants are with us.”
