SPIEF-2016 cost over $27 mln — organizing committee

ST. PETERSBURG, June 18. /TASS/. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) cost of 1.8 bln rubles ($27.97 mln), Adviser to the Russian President, Deputy Chairman of the Organizing Committee - Executive Secretary, Anton Kobyakov said on Friday at a press conference of the results of the forum. "The budget of this year’s forum increased by 300 mln rubles ($4.6 mln), keeping in mind that the ruble exchange rate changed against the dollar, and considering the fact that the venue has been increased more than twice in terms of area - a lot of things have changed. The cost of the forum this year amounted to 1.8 bln rubles ($27.79 mln)," he said. The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum first took place in 1997 and since 2006, it has been held under the auspices of the President of the Russian Federation, who has also attended each event. More than 12,000 people from 130 countries participated in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in 2016. 1,300 companies, including 880 represented by executives, participated in the forum. According to Kobyakov, the most important result of the SPIEF 2016 is that "it reaffirmed its status as a large-scale, reputable and globally popular platform for open and direct discussions with representatives of the official authorities, business, academic and expert circles of different countries on timely issues of the world economy and finance." "The growing number of the forum’s participants from year to year means that Russia always was and remains the most important center for attracting business contacts, business community from all over the world," he added. The XXth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2016) was held on June 16-18 at the new venue in Shushary. The key topics of discussion are the new economic reality and the search for new sources of growth. Every year more than 10,000 participants come to SPIEF from more than 70 countries. 205 open agreements were signed at SPIEF 2015 for a total amount of 293.4 bln rubles ($4.52 bln). Read more