The 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum opens in Russia

The 28th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) opened in Russia's second-largest city on Wednesday. It will bring together all parties to explore effective approaches to addressing global challenges.

This year's forum, "Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World," runs until Saturday.

According to Anton Kobyakov, adviser to the Russian president and executive secretary of the SPIEF Organizing Committee, nearly 20,000 representatives from 140 countries and regions and heads of several international organizations have confirmed their participation in this year's forum.

This forum is held when the global economy is facing severe challenges. It is poised to be a platform for discussing issues ranging from accelerating digitalization to addressing climate change and formulating specific, practical solutions that can adapt the global economy to new conditions.

The forum includes more than 150 events, with entrepreneurs from Russia, China, the United States, Türkiye, Brazil, Vietnam, India, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, African and Latin American countries, and the European Union and Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states engaged in business talks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend a plenary session and deliver a speech on Friday.

Established in 1997, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is an essential platform for discussing global economic governance and fostering international consensus on cooperation. Since 2006, it has been held under the auspices of the Russian president, who has also attended each event.

According to the Roscongress Foundation, the organizer of the 27th SPIEF, 1,073 agreements worth more than 6.4 trillion rubles (about 81.5 billion U.S. dollars) were signed in 2024.