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SPIEF participants to discuss women’s role in business

The official opening of the forum is scheduled for June 1

ST. PETERSBURG, May 31. /TASS/. Participants of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017 (SPIEF 2017) in the so-called zero day of the forum will discuss the role of women in business and will start to get acquainted with the St. Petersburg culture. The official opening of the forum is scheduled for June 1, but the business and cultural program will open on Wednesday with several events.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) will hold three conferences in the framework of the SPIEF that address a wide range of problems around the world, including the status of women entrepreneurs.

"The UNIDO program includes the interregional forums "Strengthening International SME Alliances between the Russian Federation and LAC Countries" and "Women’s Entrepreneurship - Challenges and Solutions in Europe and the Arab Region," the SPIEF-2017 organizing committee said.

"The goals of the Second Interregional Forum on ‘Strengthening International SME Alliances between the Russian Federation and LAC Countries’ are to contribute to strengthening the capacity of SMEs and developing partnerships between the SME sectors in LAC and Russia through identifying potential partners and bringing interested parties together to create a dialogue; and to propose mechanisms for creating interregional strategic alliances and improving interregional investment potential," according to the SPIEF 2017 website.

"The main topic of the Interregional Forum on "Women’s Entrepreneurship - Challenges and Solutions in Europe and the Arab Region" will be expanding women’s economic rights and opportunities. The event is expected to include a discussion of government policy to encourage women’s entrepreneurship, as well as institutional and practical solutions in this area through the sharing of specific examples and experiences between Russia and Arab countries. It will also feature a presentation of UNIDO’s approach to women’s entrepreneurship from the point of view of developing new projects and general initiatives," the SPIEF-2017 organizing committee said.

The topic of forging international relations will continue at the Conference on Developing Cooperation from Lisbon to Vladivostok, where the central focus will be on injecting new energy into EU-EAEU relations.

"The purpose of the international conference is to promote the development of economic cooperation in the territory from Lisbon to Vladivostok, strengthen joint activities and cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union," the organizing committee said.

Representatives of 66 countries, including 39 ministers from 26 countries, preliminarily confirmed participation in the forum. Heads of 72 entities of the Russian Federation, more than 250 heads of the largest foreign companies, and more than 700 Russian top managers are expected to visit the forum. As for media representatives, 2,500 applications from 35 countries were received.