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From emerging technologies and sustainable development to new models of international cooperation, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (SPIEF) returns to St. Petersburg from 3–6 June 2026, bringing together leaders, policymakers, innovators and industry players from across the world.
A platform for ideas, dialogue and strategic partnerships in a rapidly transforming global landscape.
A platform for ideas, dialogue and strategic partnerships in a rapidly transforming global landscape.
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00:07All right, the Ross Congress Foundation has established itself as a key architect of international dialogues
00:13and also bringing together policymakers, business leaders and of course experts across regions at a time
00:19when global cooperation is under increasing strain.
00:23And of course through platforms like St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, SPIF,
00:27it plays a critical role in fostering conversations that go beyond diplomacy,
00:33driving real economic engagement and also partnerships.
00:36And with that in mind, I am keen to explore how Ross Congress continues to shape and also sustain these
00:43global conversations,
00:45particularly as economic alliances evolve and also new centers of growth such as ASEAN maybe gain prominence at the global
00:54stage.
00:54With that, I would like to introduce our guest for today, Alexei Valkov, Director of St. Petersburg International Economic Forum,
01:02SPIF.
01:03And also we have our interpreter today, Fatima Tutieva.
01:07Thank you so much for joining us.
01:09Now, Alexei, help us to understand the objective of the Ross Congress Foundation
01:14and also how they are evolving amidst changes in the global economy and also geopolitical maybe.
01:48Thank you, and hello from the St. Petersburg airport.
01:52I am now on my way to the work trip.
01:56As for the Ross Congress Foundation, it serves as the organizer for major international business events,
02:02creating infrastructure and ecosystem that enables ideas to be transformed into concrete projects
02:09and discussions to be transformed into concrete solutions.
02:17So this is our key objective.
02:20And in terms of transformation in the global economy, we are working with the form of our activities,
02:31the mechanism of cooperation, the mechanism of cooperation.
02:35It talks about the effective implementation of projects through dialogue,
02:39and in this logic, our cooperation with regions,
02:44demonstrating economic dynamics, in particular, with the countries of West Asia.
02:50And in the conditions of the transforming economic world,
02:54our goal is becoming more practical.
02:57We have to take into account forming tendencies
03:00and create conditions for effective realizations of the projects.
03:06We are particularly interested in the regions that are strengthening their cooperation,
03:13including the Southeast Asia, of course.
03:17And of course, Alexei, because developing international dialogue is not an easy task,
03:23given that the current situation in regards to geopolitical tensions.
03:27Can you explain to us the role of the Roskongress Foundation
03:33in developing international dialogue, especially in regards to SPIF?
03:38Well, of course.
03:40Well, of course.
03:40The project of the Roskongress Foundation,
03:41in particular, the Pterbush International Economic Forum,
03:44are the role of the practicality of the discussion,
03:47and the realisation of economic policy.
03:49There are also representatives of the government, business,
03:52experts of the society,
03:53to be synchronized in positions and to be in particular.
03:56And it is important that we are not only about the discussion.
03:59So, in the final form, every year,
04:01we are working on all the issues of the agreement,
04:03we are releasing the investment projects,
04:05we have new connections.
04:07The project is working as a point of entry
04:09into the real economic process.
04:12And what is also very important,
04:14is that, in the final form,
04:15the request of the President of the Russian Federation,
04:20The Roskongress Foundation's venues, including the SPIF,
04:25serve as strategic hubs for practical dialogue
04:28between the representatives of the government,
04:31business and experts.
04:33And not only is this the venue for discussion,
04:37if not, of course, practical solutions.
04:40Agreements are being signed,
04:42and the venue serves as the entry point
04:46into the real economy.
04:48And, of course, it serves as a platform
04:51for the realization of the decisions
04:54of the President of the Russian Federation.
04:57And I would like to mention,
05:00that the PEDMF,
05:04due to the broad geography of its participants,
05:07is not only for those who are interested in business in Russia,
05:10but for those who are interested in developing
05:13these multi-continental connections.
05:15Because, in the last year,
05:16in the forum,
05:18there were more than 140 countries,
05:21it is, of course, a high number,
05:23and, of course,
05:24it is an excellent platform
05:25for establishing the connections
05:27between Latin America and Asia,
05:29between Africa and Asia,
05:31and, of course, Russia.
05:36Separately, I would like to point out,
05:38that the SPIF,
05:39because of its expanded geography,
05:42is not only the platform
05:43to create connections with the Russian businesses,
05:46but also to create connections between continents.
05:50Last year, in the SPIF,
05:522025,
05:53140 countries were represented.
05:57This is a big number,
05:58and it allows to create connections
06:00between Latin America and Asia,
06:01Africa and Asia,
06:03and, of course, Russia.
06:06And, of course,
06:09striking a balance
06:11is very crucial for international dialogue.
06:15This balance is achieved by the format
06:18and architecture of the event.
06:20In the beginning,
06:21we started to form a network,
06:22in which both sides
06:24are involved in the same way
06:25through the program,
06:26through both sides,
06:28through the specialization of the format,
06:29and, of course,
06:31a good example of this conversation
06:32is the zone of Congress International.
06:35It is a platform,
06:36which was created as an instrument
06:38for the development
06:39of the international dialogue,
06:40in the first place,
06:41in the future,
06:41in the future,
06:43in the future,
06:44It is a platform,
06:46which allows the business
06:51and experts to meet
06:58at the same venue,
07:01which allows the business
07:07and experts to meet at the same venue,
07:10and the program is organized
07:12so that we would have
07:14the business program,
07:15bilateral meetings,
07:16and agreement signatures,
07:18and a separate platform
07:21to promote international dialogue
07:23is the Ross Congress International
07:26Business Networking Zone,
07:28which unifies
07:29a communicational space
07:31for dialogue
07:32between the representatives
07:33of the government,
07:34of business,
07:35and the experts.
07:39Alexei,
07:40I want to talk about ASEAN
07:41and also SPIF,
07:42because ASEAN always
07:43promoting ourselves
07:44as the crucial
07:46middle power partner
07:48in the global arena,
07:50in terms of doing business
07:51and also geopolitical.
07:53How do you assess
07:54the role of SPIF
07:55in developing cooperation
07:57between Russia
07:58and also ASEAN countries?
08:01Pетербургский
08:02Международный
08:03экономический форум
08:04играет системную роль
08:05в развитии
08:06сотрудничества
08:07между Россией
08:07и странами ASEAN,
08:09насколько дает
08:09не только площадку
08:10диалога, но и инструменты
08:12для его практической
08:12реализации.
08:14В 2025 году
08:15это взаимодействие
08:16причем
08:17по развитию
08:18был представлен
08:20на площадке
08:20совместный стенд
08:21ASEAN Business Advisory Council
08:23где был
08:24Совет России
08:25ASEAN
08:26ряд мероприятий
08:27с участием
08:28региона.
08:29Также
08:29стоит отметить,
08:30что
08:32в раках
08:33подготовки
08:34Петербургского
08:34международного
08:35экономического форума
08:36состоялась
08:36роль-шоу,
08:37посвященная
08:38председательству
08:38в Малайзии
08:40и ASEAN в 2005 году.
08:43И, безусловно,
08:45надо отметить
08:46роль
08:47регулярного
08:48бизнес-диалога
08:49ASEAN,
08:50который проводится
08:51на площадке форума
08:52и уже стал
08:53устойчивым инструментом
08:54кооперации
08:55между
08:55композиционными
08:56и с обсуждением
09:22торговли,
09:24инвестиции,
09:25инфраструктура
09:28в 2015 году
09:29в 2015 году
09:29еще раз
09:29в Малайзии
09:32в Малайзии
09:34ASEAN Business Advisory Council, which was held as part of the SPIEF 2025.
09:40Clearly, regular business dialogue in the platform of the SPIEF creates additional opportunities
09:47for communication and business dialogue between Russia and ASEAN countries
09:51when it comes to the trade, economic and investment cooperation.
09:57Let's talk about the business opportunity from a rise from SPIEF.
10:01What opportunities does ROSCongress Foundation provide to business in Southeast Asia?
10:07And are there any specific examples of cooperation with Malaysian businesses, maybe?
10:44And, of course, we are always happy to welcome the president of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council and the head
10:51of the corporate business structure.
10:53In general, we are always happy to welcome the Malaysian company on the platform and actively developing the format, which
11:03allows us to produce more results in the development of the business.
11:08The Malaysian companies annually are represented during the SPIF in the wide range of topics, including the government administration, counseling
11:25industry, including the participation of the representatives of the parliament and the president of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council.
11:35And the representatives of the Malaysian business are always welcome on the venues of the SPIF.
11:43We provide all the necessary tools for the efficient bilateral dialogue.
11:49How is SPIF program basically being shipped this year? Because I attended last year. So this year, how is it
11:57going to be? And what should the participants expect from both business and also cultural parts, maybe?
12:03Well, the program of the PNSEAN Business Forum is a year-old. It's a year-old. It's a year-old.
12:11It's a year-old. It's a year-old. It's a year-old.
12:52All year, the program is formed and published in advance to make sure that we are living inlinear
13:02count in all the opinions of the representatives of the business and the government
13:08and create practical dialogue.
13:11This year the topic is practical dialogue, the route to sustainable economy
13:16and traditionally there are several blocks, several parts of the program.
13:22The main part has to do with the global growth for economic models
13:27and, of course, one of the important topics is going to be the social agenda and the quality of life.
13:37Yes, the next track is the strategy for life, new technologies, new qualities
13:42that equate the development of the territory, infrastructure, and, of course, the role of the technology
13:48that is dedicated to the key drivers of technological development, artificial intelligence,
13:52digitalization, digitalization, and digitalization.
13:55Well, in addition to the sessions, the traditional program includes a wide range of international
13:59business dialogues, in particular with the countries of SIAAN, BRICS, SHOS.
14:03It is also important to note that the forum will be going to be going to be going to be
14:07going to be
14:07a large segment of the understanding of the program, the political and creative industries,
14:12and, of course, a traditional cultural and export program.
14:20also important topics for this year are the development of the cities of the
14:24infrastructure for the convenience of life for the better quality of life and
14:29the development of technology the artificial intelligence digitalization
14:34and so on more than that there will be the representation of the business
14:40dialogue including the associations such as ASEAN, BRICS, SOC, Business 20 and of
14:47course an extended cultural and sports program all right Alexei and Fatima thank
14:53you so much for joining us at this time I guess I'll see you at SPF 2026 next
14:58month I would say thank you so much again once again for explaining to us and
15:04help us to understand better about the role of Ross Congress Foundation and
15:08also the importance of having SPF 2026 amidst of the tensions that we've seen
15:13globally thank you so much
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