Economic Forum in St. Petersburg Brings 15 Billion EUR of Profit

The total number of various investment agreements signed within the scope of the International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg, which took place on June 17-19, exceeded 50. The deals are evaluated at over 15 billion euros, Arkady Dvorkovich, economic assistant to the Russian president said.

The total amount of investment agreements and contracts signed during the forum made up 250 billion rubles, including 190 billion rubles, or 5 billion euros, the official said. These are so-called lump sums, he added. Additionally, there were other agreements signed stipulating company mergers and share redistributions. These are evaluated at 120 billion rubles. He referred to Gazprom’s agreement with French energy companies about their participation in Nord Stream and South Stream projects.

“In addition, there are other agreements stipulating orders for the production of various types of products,” Dvorkovich added. They particularly include the construction of gas tankers for Gazprom. These agreements are evaluated at approximately $6 billion.

“It’s not really correct to put up all these numbers. However, if we do it, we get the number that exceeds 15 billion euros,” the official said.

The most active sides in the talks during the forum were the St. Petersburg administration, Russia’s largest state-run bank Sberbank, gas giant Gazprom and also French companies that signed more than ten agreements within the framework of Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Russia.

The International Economic Forum in St. Petersburg was held on June 17-19 under the slogan “Laying the Foundation for the Future.” About 4,000 participants, including nearly 700 companies from 100 countries took part in the event. World’s leading politicians and entrepreneurs discussed key issues that Russia, developing markets and the international community face at the moment.

“A lot has been said about the fact that there were many agreements and contracts signed during the St. Petersburg Economic Forum. However, one should not estimate the results of the forum from the point of view of business deals only. The biggest achievement of the forum is the realization of the depth and immensity of the crisis, the need in the global structural reorganization of the world economy,” Aleksey Kozlov of UFS Investment Company told Pravda.Ru.

“Any crisis precedes the reorganization of economy, it gives an opportunity to cut off ineffective economic mechanisms and build new ones. The basis of the future development is being formed now, and we hope that the economic forum has contributed greatly in the formation of the future economic growth,” he added.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is held annually with the support and participation of the Russian president.

Yekaterina Yevstigneyeva.