St. Petersburg Forum 2025: Navigating Global Business in a Multipolar Landscape

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia’s premier business and investment gathering, kicked off on Wednesday, emphasizing the promotion of a “multipolar” world amid Russia’s estrangement from Western nations.

Since the onset of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, SPIEF has seen a decline in its status as the “Russian Davos,” primarily due to the diminished participation of Western business leaders, investors, and officials.

According to the Kremlin, approximately 20,000 attendees from 140 countries are expected to join the forum, both in person and virtually, with acknowledgment of the presence of unspecified American business representatives.

Organizers previously announced that a panel scheduled for Thursday, titled «Russia-USA,» will involve U.S. business figures with connections to Russia discussing ongoing commercial interactions in the context of limited political dialogue following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Representatives from 50 nations, including China, Vietnam, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the Central African Republic, and Burkina Faso, are set to attend SPIEF 2025. Officials from the Taliban also arrived from Afghanistan on Wednesday.

In a notable gesture for President Vladimir Putin, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto chose to skip the G7 summit in Canada this week in favor of attending SPIEF and meeting with Putin.

Putin is expected to deliver his annual keynote address during Friday’s plenary session, alongside Prabowo, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, Bahraini royal Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, and South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

On the opening day of the forum, Putin is anticipated to meet with leaders of major international news agencies.

Similar to previous years, the speaker lineup for SPIEF 2025 features offspring of Russia’s ruling elite, including Putin’s daughter Katerina Tikhonova and Ksenia Shoigu, the daughter of former Defense Minister and current Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu.

This year’s forum comprises over 150 business and themed events revolving around the theme «Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World.» These sessions will be hosted by organizations such as BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, and the G20, as noted by the Kremlin.

Mobile internet services in St. Petersburg faced disruptions beginning Tuesday evening as delegates arrived for the forum. Reports indicate that hotels in the city were fully booked, and restaurants at the Expoforum convention center raised their prices by at least 32%.

In a message directed at forum attendees, Putin underscored SPIEF 2025’s emphasis on «technology and digital transformation as essential drivers of leadership in the contemporary world,» alongside discussions on demographics, labor productivity, science, education, healthcare, and social welfare.

Contributions to this report were made by AFP.