Against All Odds: Foreign Guests & Participants Gather At SPIEF 2023

The St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), one of the most prominent gatherings for a wide range of discussions on the Russian economy and international issues, started on Wednesday 14 June, in Russia's second-largest city.
Sputnik
SPIEF 2023 is running from Wednesday until 17 June at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center. The main theme of this year’s SPIEF is sovereign development as the basis for a just world.
Among other things, discussions at the forum will revolve around various global topics, Russia's economy and its adaptation in the rapidly changing world, ways of building technological sovereignty, and improving people's quality of life.
The central event of the forum is, as per previous years, a plenary session. The Russian President's spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced that Vladimir Putin will take part in the session and deliver a speech to the forum participants on Friday.
High-ranking officials from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Qatar, Pakistan, Venezuela, Hungary, Myanmar, and Nicaragua will also attend the event. According to the Roscongress Foundation, Russia's major organizer of nationwide and international conventions, more than 17,000 people from 130 countries and territories have confirmed their participation at SPIEF 2023.
Take a look at Sputnik's gallery of the event that has brought together thousands of people from all over the globe.
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SPIEF-2023: Participants of the event at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center.

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Forum participants at the Expoforum Сonvention and Exhibition Center in Russia's second-largest city, Saint Petersburg.

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Author and expat American, Joseph Rose, is a panelist on the 14 June debate entitled Returning to Russia: The Potential of Compatriots for Regional Development at SPIEF-2023

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Participants of the event at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Center.

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Forum participants at the ExpoForum.

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Astha Tyagi, the vice-president of Invest India - an organization to encourage investment in the country - speaks at the SPIEF-2023 session, Potential of Trade, Economic and Investment cooperation between Russia and India: Development Scenario, on 14 June.

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SPIEF-2023: Participants at the ExpoForum.

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Nguyen Thi Thu Tui, Dean of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Vietnam's Hong Bang International University speaks at the SPIEF-2023 session, Effective Strategy in Drug Provision, on 14 June.

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Participants of the event at the ExpoForum.

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Zhang Wuyi, General Manager of Ho'ping China speaks at the SPIEF-2023 session International Cooperation: From Tasks to Solutions.

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Participants and international guests flock to the event at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center.

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Kazem Jalali, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the Russian Federation visits the Sputnik radio studio at SPIEF-2023.

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SPIEF-2023: (Front from left) Manprit Singh, President of the Indian Chamber of International Business (ICIB) and Veronika Nikishina, General Director of the Russian Export Center (REC) JSC, after signing a Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation between the REC JSC and the ICIB.

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Forum participants at the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Center.

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SPIEF-2023: Participants at the Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Center.

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SPIEF-2023: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) stand at the exhibition.

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SPIEF-2023: Dr. Hesa Sabah Al Doseri, Head of Medical Institutions Regulation at the Kingdom of Bahrain's National Health Regulatory Authority, visiting the forum.

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SPIEF-2023: (From left) Almir Ameriko (sitting), head of the Moscow office of Brazi's Export Development Agency "Apex Brazil" shakes hands with Alexander Sharabaiko, board member and deputy general director for finance and international projects, PJSC "PhosAgro" speak at the session, Russia - Brazil, on 14 June.