The President of the BRICS Forum called the SPIEF a key platform for the development of cooperation.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025) has become one of the key platforms for the development of international cooperation. This was announced to Izvestia on June 16 by the President of the BRICS International Forum, Anand Purnima.

According to her, this year's SPIEF is important because in 2024 the BRICS has become a large and important part of it. The President of the forum stressed that this year the focus is on digitalization and climate change.

In addition, Purnima clarified that for the implementation of many projects in the BRICS countries, work is underway on digitalization, which he called very important along with artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. According to her, a very good new team is working in this direction, creating Go BRICS, the BRICS International Forum and other alliances with Go BRICS.

The President of the BRICS International Forum added that this year, attempts will be made on the sidelines of the SPIEF to conclude cooperation with several countries in order to speed up work within the framework of the association.

"After Davos, I think this is the second largest economic forum. It provides opportunities for many countries to come together and discuss important issues. Russia is a very big country, representatives of all its regions and subjects come here, so here you can get a complete picture of Russia. This is a really good opportunity," said Purnima.

She noted that small and medium-sized businesses also play an important role this year. According to her, against the background of the Ukrainian conflict, the Russian Federation has focused on agriculture, as well as on small and medium-sized enterprises. Purnima recalled that she is an Indian citizen, and stressed that this country is strong in these areas.

"I think this year we will have more opportunities for good cooperation. I am very happy and I know that a lot of young people come here, a lot of young people. There are many opportunities for communication, dialogue and partnership here," she added.

SPIEF 2025: dates, program and participants, Putin's speech

Russia's main international economic forum will be held in the second half of June.

On June 10, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov announced a speech by Russian President Vladimir Putin at the SPIEF plenary session on Friday, June 20. He refused to reveal the moderator of the discussion and talk about surprises at the upcoming forum.

Prior to that, on June 9, the Russian leader sent greetings to the SPIEF 2025 participants. In his address, the President stressed the importance of the forum as an authoritative international platform bringing together politicians, representatives of business, scientific and expert circles from many countries.