Kremlin adviser Yury Ushakov discussed the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) with reporters yesterday. He said that the conference, which opened today, will have delegations from some 90 countries, with “high-ranking delegations” from over 40 countries. Heads of major foreign companies and banks will also be present. President Putin will speak on Friday, June 17.
“As for the President’s speech, it is being prepared now, and it is expected that the President will give an assessment of the current situation in the world economy and politics, of course, we will talk about the problems that the world economy is facing today, about unfair interstate competition, trade and financial wars, sanctions, restrictions, and so on,” Ushakov told reporters, adding that Putin will also discuss the current trend on the multipolar economic model.
Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi will be the main guest, and will participate by video connection. Other heads of state or government who will attend include Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan, and Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s tripartite presidency. Ushakov said Putin would meet with each on the sidelines of the conference. The heads of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk (D.P.R. and L.P.R.), Denis Pushilin and Leonid Pasechnik, will also attend, but Ushakov told reporters that meetings with them are “not yet planned. They will participate [in SPIEF], but as far as I know, this is not planned. But everything is possible on the sidelines, of course.”
