Some 24,200 participants, media representatives from 144 countries attend SPIEF

By TRN Online, Kathmandu, June 26: More than 24,200 participants and media representatives from 144 countries and territories participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) held in Russia. 

According to the press release , The largest delegations came from Indonesia, China, the UAE, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile the number of representatives from ASEAN countries increased fourfold. SPIEF is one of the major economic events in the world,  and it took place in Russia on June 18-21.

SPIEF events were attended by more than 140 high-ranking foreign officials: deputy prime ministers, foreign ministers, prosecutors general, heads of international organizations and associations, heads of diplomatic missions, heads of foreign cities and regions.

The Forum's business program included over 370 events, including 24 business dialogues with key countries and regions, such as India, China, the USA, the UAE, ASEAN, Brazil, Oman, Bahrain, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, France, Africa, Latin America and many more. 1,060 agreements worth a total of about 80.2 billion US dollars were signed on the sidelines of the SPIEF, particularly in the spheres vital for Nepal, read the presss release.

The activities of the Forum were focused on global and regional economic processes, market transformation, new technologies, investment climate, financial policy and people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin personally attended the plenary session and delivered his speech. The head of state touched upon the development of the Russian economy, international economic cooperation and adaptation to the challenges of a multipolar world. “The global economy is undergoing its most extensive transformation in recent decades. Countries of the world community are increasing their potential, changing the balance of power and the entire economic picture of the planet. If at the beginning of the 21st century, the BRICS countries, for example, made up a fifth of the global economy - only a fifth, today they are already 40% of the global economy. And it is obvious that this share will only grow - this is, as they say, a medical fact, this will happen inevitably, primarily due to the dynamic states of the Global South,” the Russian president Putin said.

The business sessions of the SPIEF were structured into five tracks: "World Economy: New Platform for Global Growth", "Russian Economy: New Quality of Growth", "Man in the New World", "Living Environment" and "Technology: Striving for Leadership".

Special attention at the Forum was paid to BRICS. Participants recalled that BRICS currently accounts for 45% of the world's population, 26% of the planet's territory and already 37% of global GDP at purchasing power parity, which means that the "Global South" is becoming a new fulcrum for growth.

Representatives of the Global South paid much attention to food security issues.  Forum guests from "non-Western" states particularly noted the role of Russia as a guarantor of global food stability.