Greek Tourism Minister to attend St. Petersburg International Economic Forum

Greece’s Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura and Deputy Foreign Minister Dimitris Mardas will represent the Greek government at the 20th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that will take place June 16-18 in Russia.

This year’s topic is «Capitalizing on the New Global Economic Reality». The annual event brings together politicians, business leaders and think tankers.

During the last decade, SPIEF has become a leading international platform for the discussion of the key economic issues facing Russia, emerging markets, and the world as a whole. It attracts over 10,000 international and Russian participants, including government and business leaders from the emerging economic powers, as well as leading global voices from academia, the media, and civil society.

The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin will deliver a speech at the opening of the forum. The keynote speakers at the 20th SPIEF will be the UN’s secretary general, Ban Ki Moon and the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has agreed to attend, a Commission spokeswoman announced on May 30, in a move that may stir debate on the EU’s fraught relations with Moscow.

«President Juncker has been invited and plans to participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum on 16 June», the spokeswoman stated. «He will use this opportunity to convey to the Russian leadership as well as to a wider audience the EU’s perspective regarding the current state of EU-Russia relations», she added.

Major US investors

Hungary’s Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, former French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine and Europe’s former Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson are also on the guest list. Major US investors will take part in the forum.

«Business will do what it sees as necessary. What is not forbidden is allowed. According to our information, the leading investors will attend the Russian forum. American companies will be among them. The policy of ignoring the forum has failed. Interested companies, in any case, will attend and no one will hinder them», said Russian Embassy in Washington spokesman Grigory Zasypkin.

Last year, SPIEF was attended by PwC, Boston Consulting, Schlumberger, Intel, ExxonMobil, Boeing and other American companies. In 2015, the forum saw 205 agreements, memorandums and contracts signed, with a total worth of $4.5 billion.

The Greek Tourism Ministe will deliver a speech on Thursday during the forum’s special session entitled “New Horizons in the Tourism Industry” organized by the financial newspaper Expert.

Other participants in the session will include the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Taleb Rifai; the head of  Russia’s Federal Tourism Agency (Rostourism), Oleg Safonov, executives of the international tourism market as well as Russian government representatives and tourism professionals.

Minister Kountoura is also scheduled to attend a special event organized with the support of the Greek Consulate in St. Petersburg and in cooperation with the Greek National Tourism Organization office in Russia. Representatives of the Russian government, productive entities, educational institutions and SMEs will be present at the event.

Read more here.

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