SPIEF officially begins in Saint Petersburg
The International Economic Forum, taking place in the city on the Neva from June 3 to 6, has entered its main phase. Thursday, June 4, marked the venue’s official opening ceremony. This time, the organizers opted against lengthy official opening remarks: the ceremony opened with a dynamic, interactive video that set the tone for the entire discussion that followed.
The heads of major international organizations and senior representatives of Asia-Pacific countries delivered welcoming remarks to the participants. The presence of large delegations from Asia once again highlighted the pivot of the Russian and global economy.
The forum’s business program immediately turned to global tectonic shifts. Speaking at the opening, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Novak outlined two key challenges facing the international community today.
The first challenge is infrastructural. According to Novak, the new leaders of global economic growth are now being forced to rapidly build fundamentally new logistics chains and direct links, adapting to the changing geopolitical reality. The second, but no less important, challenge, the Deputy Prime Minister said, is the technological revolution: the rapid development of digital platforms and the widespread introduction of artificial intelligence, which are reshaping the very structure of the labor market and production.
The forum will continue until June 6. Ahead, participants can expect key panel sessions, the signing of billion-dollar contracts, and SPIEF’s central event – the plenary session.
Roman Bondarchuk, UzA
Saint Petersburg
