MOSCOW, June 14. /TASS/. Foreign statesman from more than 40 countries will attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2016) this year, Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Tuesday.
"Italy is the honorary member-state of the Forum this year while foreign statesmen and politicians from more than 40 countries will attend the Forum (last year representatives of 30 countries participated)," Ushakov said, adding that two presidents - of Kazakhstan and the Republic of Guinea, prime ministers of Germany and Italy as well as vice presidents and vice premiers of eight countries and 35 ministers from across the globe will visit the Forum this year. Also, Presidential aide said, the management of international organizations will be widely represented this time. Particularly, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will attend the Forum. "Also, the European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will participate, which is extremely important," he said.
According to Ushakov, around 10,000 participants are expected at the Forum versus last year's 7,500, which is "close to a record if not a record" and is demonstrating the importance of the upcoming event.
Particularly, representatives of 600 Russian and around 500 foreign companies from 60 countries around the world, including from the United States, France, Switzerland, Japan, Great Britain, Germany, Italy, Finland, China, Denmark and more will attend the Forum. A total of 230 foreign companies will be represented by top managers, Ushakov said, adding that "many representatives of other countries and leading international companies, including the countries, which do not recommend sending their representatives to the Forum" are expected to come.
The twentieth St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held on June 16-18 on a new site near St. Petersburg. The new economic reality and the search for new growth drivers will be key topics for discussions at the Forum.
Speaking about the plans and meetings of Russian President within SPIEF, Ushakov said that "the (first) two days (June 16-17 - TASS) will be overheated though there may arise some unexpected meetings as the forum implies informal conversations as well when people come up, start to talk, ask questions.".