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Foreign interest in Gaidar Forum up amid pandemic — organizer

On January 14-15, the forum will be held in a mixed format for the first time, featuring on-campus and online participants

MOSCOW, January 12. /TASS/. The number of foreigners willing to participate in the Gaidar Forum that will be held in Moscow on January 14-15, has not dropped amid the pandemic, but has even gone up, Rector of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA) Vladimir Mau told TASS.

"The number of foreign speakers willing to take part has not dropped, it has even increased as one does not have to come here but, on the contrary, it is now easier to participate online," he said.

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It will be possible to ask speakers questions at this year’s forum dubbed ‘Russia and the World after the Pandemic’, Mau added.

The forum will be held in a mixed (hybrid) format for the first time as experts and speakers will take part in panel discussions on the RANEPA central campus, whereas participants will follow the discussions online.

The online format will enable those short of time to watch recorded videos of discussions. "The forum and its sessions will have a long, if not to say eternal life. In this sense, it is going to be interesting for listeners at different periods of time and development of the country, <...> at least during the year," Mau said, adding that he expects the format to remain largely after the pandemic.

The Gaidar Forum is an annual international research and practical conference in the economic field that has been held since 2010. It brings together renowned experts, government representatives, public and political figures and business leaders from different countries. The event is traditionally co-organized by the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, the Gaidar Institute for Economic Policy and the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR). TASS is a general information partner of the forum.

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