The 27th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2024) was held fr om June 5 to 8. In total, more than 21,300 participants and media representatives from 139 countries and territories, including Russia, took part this year. Delegations from 95 countries attended the forum, including 63 heads of the diplomatic corps and 48 foreign ministers. The architecture of the SPIEF business program was formed around the most pressing issues on Russia's economic agenda and international trade and economic cooperation in a multipolar world - the forum was held under the motto “The foundation of a multipolar world is the formation of new growth points.” The discussions covered issues of the economy, the logistics market, international relations, and the development of education, healthcare and patriotic education. The Ministry of Eastern Development and the Far East Region signed 12 agreements with a total investment volume of 106 billion rubles. The head of the Russian Ministry of Eastern Development, Alexey Chekunkov, took part in the session “Northern Sea Route: Expanding Arctic Horizons,” wh ere he noted that half of the world’s Arctic is Russia: “We are faced with great challenges, including the thawing of permafrost, construction in difficult climatic conditions. Russia must be a technological leader in the Arctic. We are creating a register of best practices for working in the north to create an international standard. We will spread the best global and domestic experience to all northern regions.” First Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the Development of the Far East and Arctic Gadzhimagomed Guseinov spoke about programs aimed at improving the living conditions of Far Eastern residents at the session “Regions and Cities. The Future Today”. Deputy Minister for Development of the Far East and Arctic Elvira Nurgalieva summed up the first results of the “Priority 2030. Far East” program at the panel discussion “Priority 2030: contribution to the implementation of national projects”. 12 Far Eastern universities became participants in the program, and 4.7 billion rubles were allocated for this in 2022-2024. The Creative Business Forum was also held at the SPIEF site. Elvira Nurgalieva spoke about the Creative Industries Forum “Created in the Far East”, which will be held on August 1-3 in Khabarovsk, and will be attended by 3,000 representatives of creative economy sectors.
