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Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum 2014

Finance Minister Ueli Maurer to head Swiss delegation to SPIEF-2018

The delegation will also include the heads of major companies and organizations, such as ABB Ltd, Glencore plc, Nestle and Philip Morris International Inc.

MOSCOW, April 28. /TASS/. Switzerland’s delegation to St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be led by the country’s Minister of Finance Ueli Maurer, press service of Russia's Roscongress Foundation, the organizer of the Forum, said in a statement on Saturday.

The plans were revealed during the meeting between Anton Kobyakov, Advisor to the President of the Russian Federation, and Yves Rossier, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Russia. The meeting focused at the problems of cooperation in terms of forums, in particular participation of the Swiss delegation in the SPIEF 2018 events.

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Switzerland’s "high-profile delegation to the Forum will be led by the Minister of Finance Ueli Maurer and will also include the heads of major companies and organizations, such as ABB Ltd, Glencore plc, Nestle and Philip Morris International Inc., which are prepared for long-term cooperation with Russian partners," the statement said.

Among other things, the parties considered the possibility of holding a Russian-Swiss roundtable as part of the SPIEF 2018 business program and a reception on behalf of Swiss delegation head Ueli Maurer for Forum participants. They also discussed the details of the forthcoming financial dialogue at the level of Russian and Swiss finance ministers.

Kobyakov pointed to the positive trend in the development of Russian-Swiss relations, with regular political contacts between the two countries in place. Development of small and medium-sized businesses and interregional projects was mentioned as a promising area of cooperation.

"Russian-Swiss sales have been on the rise in recent years. Today, there are over 600 Swiss-invested companies in Russia and about 350 Russian-invested companies operating in Switzerland. Much attention is being paid to improving the investment climate," Kobyakov was quoted as saying.

Switzerland’s business circles appreciate such events as the World Economic Forum in Davos and SPIEF, Yves Rossier said.

"We consider Switzerland’s participation in the SPIEF important and useful and see it as an excellent opportunity for officials and businessmen to discuss any problems in the bilateral relations and ways to resolve them. My colleagues and our business people have always spoken positively about their involvement in the Forum, which is consistently well-organized," he was quoted as saying.

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held on May 24-26, 2018.

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