Foreign SPIEF participants spoke about their high expectations from the forum

On June 2, Musalam Sheaito, head of the Al Mayadeen TV channel office in Russia, shared with Izvestia his expectations ahead of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2026).

According to him, special attention at the forum will be focused on the issues of the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Asia, Ukraine and Russia's relations with the countries of the Global South.

Gaurav Sharma, CEO of the Indian company ACIC-VGU, called SPIEF an excellent platform for business contacts. According to him, during the forum, the Indian side also expects to establish contacts for the exchange of experience.

"I believe that economic forums like the SPIEF are an excellent platform for our association, for establishing business ties and business development," he said.

Sharma also noted that India and Russia have a "long history of relations," and the development of startups in Asia and Russia may open up new opportunities for cooperation.

Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Sierra Leone to the Russian Federation Mohamed Yongavo said he expects to develop partnerships with Russian companies.

According to him, the Minister of Mining of Sierra Leone will take part in discussions on mining and cooperation between Russia and Africa.

"Russia's relations with Sierra Leone have been very long, and over the past 65 years we have developed productive friendly relations with the Soviet Union, and now with Russia," the ambassador noted.

Forum people: which countries' delegations will definitely come to SPIEF 2026

The stabilization of the oil market may become one of the key topics of discussion in St. Petersburg.

Kirill Dmitriev, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for Investment and Economic Cooperation with Foreign countries, head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF), noted that the participation of representatives of more than 130 countries in the SPIEF this week is due to a change in global trends and the transition to a sovereign partnership.

The big SPIEF 2026 business program will begin in St. Petersburg on June 3. Pavilions are already being installed on the site of 20 football fields, where regions and representatives of different countries are preparing to surprise investors from all over the world. For the first time in five years, all participants will not have to take a COVID-19 test. It will be needed only by those who will attend the plenary session. On June 3, St. Petersburg will once again become a point where a large global economy gathers.

On the same day, Izvestia correspondent Maxim Oblender reported that the SPIEF 2026 site was completing preparations for the opening on June 3. The stands of regions, banks, state corporations and other enterprises have prepared the uniforms on the site. Robots can be seen everywhere. Also, a hacker competition will be held during the SPIEF to test the stability of the oil industry.