Cash interest: business from the USA is ready to come to SPIEF 2026

A Russian-American business dialogue is planned for SPIEF 2026, Robert Agee, head of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, told Izvestia. This will be the first meeting in this format since December 2025, when discussions were held in Dubai. Moscow and Washington are currently working on future economic cooperation at the level of special presidential envoys. Amid the Middle East crisis, the United States temporarily lifted sanctions on oil from the Russian Federation. However, experts say that this is not an indicator of improving relations, but a short-term attempt by the United States to solve the problem of fuel shortages due to the war in Iran. The SPIEF is a suitable platform for dialogue between the Russian Federation and other countries. Saudi Arabia has expressed its willingness to participate in the forum. Many other countries of the Global South can also visit it.

Participation of American business in SPIEF 2026

The program of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is still being formed, but it has already become known about the participation of the American side in it — a Russian-American business dialogue is planned for SPIEF, Robert Agee, president and Chief Executive Officer of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia (AmCham), told Izvestia.

"We are currently working on the topics, but most likely these are potential opportunities for interaction between Russian and American companies, as well as new possible models of such interaction," he said.

According to Agee, no business meetings are scheduled between the parties before the SPIEF in 2026. The parties met in a similar format on December 9-10, 2025 in Dubai. Questions about who exactly will arrive in St. Petersburg from the United States in June and whether they will speak at the forum sessions are still being worked out.

After Donald Trump came to power in the United States, Washington and Moscow gradually began to explore the possibilities of economic cooperation. In addition, Kirill Dmitriev, the special representative of the President of Russia for investment and economic cooperation with foreign countries, the head of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, regularly holds consultations with the Americans. Such a dialogue, in particular, took place on March 12 in Miami. Dmitriev also held a meeting there on October 25, 2025. The day before, he held talks in New York.

According to Dmitriev, many countries, including the United States, have become more aware of the important role of Russian energy resources in ensuring the stability of the global economy, especially in the context of the Middle East conflict. On March 13, Washington lifted sanctions on Russian oil for 30 days.

"We see that the Trump administration has eased some sanctions in the energy sector, but this is rather a forced measure on their part," American journalist Malek Dudakov told Izvestia. — Not because their approach towards our country has changed, but simply because they need to stabilize their own domestic fuel market against the background of escalation with Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

To stabilize the global oil market, the United States agreed to release about 172 million barrels from the reserve. At the end of February, gasoline prices in the United States were about $3 per gallon. By mid-March, they had risen to $3.6. For diesel, prices rose by 15% over the week to $4.9 per gallon. This is seriously affecting logistics, cargo transportation, and car owners.

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Possible cooperation between Russia and the USA

Earlier, The Economist wrote that Trump's entourage is negotiating the acquisition of shares in Russian energy assets. Robert Agee did not confirm this information, but noted that the energy sector could become one of the key areas of cooperation between Russia and the United States.

"In the case of the resumption of economic cooperation after the signing of the peace agreement, the energy sector, in our opinion, could become one of the key areas, since the interests of Russian and American businesses directly intersect in it," the head of AmCham said earlier.

According to him, much rests on the Ukrainian conflict and it is premature to talk about large-scale cooperation between the parties before its end. Dudakov recalled that Washington had imposed a huge number of sanctions against Russia. To be able to conduct joint projects, you need to remove them in the financial and technological fields. It is important for American companies to resume cooperation with Russia, the expert added.

As an example, he cited the Boeing corporation, which is currently having big problems in the global market, lagging behind the French Airbus in competition. The loss of the Russian market had a painful effect on the company, as it lost access to Russian titanium, which Boeing used to manufacture aircraft. The domestic company VSMPO-AVISMA provided a third of the airline's needs.

The American business has an interest in purchasing Russian fertilizers, mining rare earth metals, and exploring the Arctic, Dudakov added.

Russia is one of the world's largest exporters of mineral fertilizers (nitrogen, phosphates, potassium). For agricultural companies, access to supplies from the Russian Federation is a way to insure against price spikes in the market.

Russia can also significantly increase exports of rare earths. The media reported that by 2030, Russia could enter the top 5 world leaders in the production of such metals. This is interesting for electronics, automotive, and defense manufacturers who are looking for alternatives to China's dominance. However, this requires strengthening the full production chain for processing rare earths, which is still quite weak.

With the lifting of US sanctions, investors will have access to projects in the Arctic (oil/gas, mineral deposits) and to use the Northern Sea Route as the shortest route to Asia. But this requires a civilian infrastructure. Ports, terminals, service bases, large berthing facilities, housing and logistics in Arctic conditions — all this needs to be built, which means billions of dollars of investment.

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The blockade of the Strait of Hormuz is already affecting the price of gasoline and increasing demand for Russian oil.

Which countries are ready to come to SPIEF

In 2025, SPIEF was attended by delegations from 144 countries, including Europe. For example, businessmen from Italy or Hungary. The forum was also attended by representatives of Brazil, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Qatar, CIS countries and Africa. There is reason to believe that many countries of the Global South will visit the SPIEF again in 2026. After all, it is impossible to isolate Russia, said Oleg Lyakhovenko, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Political Science at Moscow State University.

"The ongoing international events show the real and objective importance of Russia for the world community," the expert added. — Our country is a reliable supplier of natural resources, which takes a responsible approach to fulfilling its obligations, actively develops alternative and parallel logistics that are not tied to the "bottlenecks" of global trade, therefore, the demand for strengthening cooperation with Russia exists and is growing.

In particular, Saudi Arabia confirmed its intention to attend the forum. The Kingdom will be a guest in honor of the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Russian Federation. It is planned to organize a national stand of the CA at the forum, where its investment, export and tourism potential will be presented.

The presence of Saudi Arabia provides an opportunity to hold consultations on a peaceful settlement in the Middle East. Representatives of the region may also be interested in Russian weapons. The Russian Federation plays an important role in the field of defense and security, including arms exports, and right now Russian experience and developments are in particular demand, Lyakhovenko noted.

Colombia has also expressed a desire to attend the forum. The Republic is interested in developing cooperation with Russia in the field of energy, the Russian Embassy in Colombia told Izvestia.

"We note the interest of relevant departments in sharing experiences and looking for opportunities to expand cooperation, including participation in significant energy—related events in the Russian Federation (for example, the Russian Energy Week) and other key forums such as the SPIEF," the diplomats said.

Thus, there is a real substantive agenda for the SPIEF, as well as objective points of attraction for foreign participants. This potential can be realized both openly and behind the scenes, Lyakhovenko is sure. In any case, the interest of representatives of such major players as the United States and Saudi Arabia in participating in the forum already indicates the scale of the event this year.