Latest news with #SPIEF2025
Canada Standard
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Canada Standard
G7 is unviable Kremlin
Moscow has no interest in the format as the members no longer represent the global majority, spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has said Russia has zero interest in the 'Group of Seven' (G7) format, as it is no longer viable, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated. He explained that the global dominance of the countries making up the group is nearing its end. Established in the 1970s, the G7 comprised Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK. In 1998, with Russia's inclusion the group was expanded to a G8. However, the country's membership was suspended in 2014 following Crimea's reunification with Russia, following a referendum on the peninsula. On Friday, Peskov said that "our attitude toward the [G7], it's well known. It has long since stopped being an interesting and in-demand format." According to the Kremlin spokesperson, "Russia does not consider such a format viable because global trends indicate that the G7's share in global affairs and global economy will be inexorably shrinking." The official noted that "this is not seasonal volatility," but a long-term trend. Alternative formats, such as BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as full members, have already overtaken the G7 in terms of their combined share in global economy, Peskov argued. The presidential spokesperson's comments echoed those made at the 28th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025) by Maksim Oreshkin, the deputy head of President Vladimir Putin's administration, on Wednesday. "Power centers are changing. The so-called 'Big Seven', which hasn't been 'big' for a long time, is being replaced by new growth hubs," he said, pointing to the rise of countries in the Global South and East. Speaking at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, US President Donald Trump expressed regret over the removal of Russia from the group back in 2014. "I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn't have a war right now if you had Russia in," he argued. (
IOL News
7 hours ago
- Business
- IOL News
SPIEF 2025: Russia's pivotal role in a rapidly changing world order
Russia has held SPIEF annually since 1997, under the auspices of the office of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who has attended every edition. Image: Alexei Danichev/Sputnik THIS week, Russia is hosting about 20 000 participants from more than 170 countries to the 28th edition of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF). The theme of SPIEF 2025 is: Shared Values: The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World. Russia has held SPIEF annually since 1997. It is held under the auspices of the office of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, who has attended every edition of SPIEF. The business mega event is Russia's flagship programme, and crucially, it results in multibillion-dollar deals entered into by international businesses that participate with their Russian counterparts. SPIEF is regarded as one of the biggest and most important business masterclasses in the world. Last year alone, about 21 800 participants from 139 countries took part. A total of 1 073 agreements totalling Russian Rubles to the tune of 6 492 trillion were signed last year alone. In fact, SPIEF has grown so popular that Roscongress, the organisers, had to agree to a certain degree of online participation by those unable to physically be at the St Petersburg venue. South Africa's participation at this year's SPIEF was led by the Deputy President Paul Mashatile, accompanied by an eight-member ministerial entourage led by Parks Tau, Minister of the Department of Trade, Industry and Commerce. Business is represented by Elias Monage, president of the Black Business Council. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading Attending SPIEF 2025, it is incredible to watch the daily camaraderie and general atmosphere of conviviality among throngs of business gurus and political heavyweights as they shake hands on hundreds of podiums and pose for photographs holding pictures of files depicting sealed deals. Roscongress Foundation, Russia's state-owned leading enterprise in charge of events and international partnerships development, explains as follows: 'SPIEF offers an unrivalled space for dialogue and forging business ties. It provides an opportunity to find partners with the aim of securing business growth in Russia and abroad.' Speaking to the media during one of the many briefings at SPIEF, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova highlighted the growing interest from Latin America and the Global South in general to forge tighter business ties with Russia. She elaborated: 'They see open opportunities. The European businesses have partially left, and American companies have been blocked from working with Russian partners for years. Now, they see the commercial benefit, the prospects, and the resource base to support these opportunities.' Furthermore, Zakharova said, the Global South was ready for true independence, seeking to diversify partnerships beyond one centre of power. 'A new era of equal, mutually beneficial relationships is emerging.' Also on the sidelines of SPIEF, President Putin met with his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto. Apart from thrashing out the path for Indonesia to join BRICS+, the two leaders signed a declaration on strategic partnership and signed another agreement to create a $2.2 billion Investment Fund effective immediately. Indonesia is one of Russia's key partners in the Asia-Pacific region. 'Indonesia's inclusion in BRICS,' according to the Kremlin, 'will bring significant added value to the group's development. All nine current members of BRICS+ are present at SPIEF 2025. The Gulf regions are also visible, with their participation rapidly growing with every passing year. This year, Bahrain has been awarded the status of the 'guest of honour' at SPIEF. With Russia under Western sanctions over the last three years since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, attention has sharply turned to the Global South bloc, which has steadfastly refused to join the West in its war with Russia. Also speaking at SPIEF 2025, Indian tycoon Sammy Kotwani, who is also the founder of Imperial Tailoring Company, said the thousands of businesses participating at the conference were largely guided by the same ethos, which is that 'Business is about profits.' He indicated the appetite to lead Indian businesses to invest in one of Russia's newest regions — Donbass. 'If there's an opportunity,' he said in an interview with Sputnik, 'Indian companies should look for where they can make money, whether it's in Donbass or Kaliningrad.' Also reporting in the Russian news outlet Sputnik at SPIEF 2025, journalist Ishteak Hamdani reflected on the past years of covering SPIEF, saying: 'Year after year, the forum continues to achieve great things. The participation has grown. Countries like Pakistan, Latin America as a whole, Africa and Asia are now fully engaged. It is clear that SPIEF is becoming more crucial for global dialogue and progress.' SPIEF undoubtedly serves as a catalyst for Russia to circumvent efforts by the West to isolate Russia. The airports are busy as normal, and even tourism, aided by visitors from the Global South, is booming. The shops are well-stocked with Russian-produced goods, signifying the value and importance of an economy that is largely self-reliant. During Q&As at various press conferences, curiosity over the Russia-West standoff creeps up, and how and when it is likely to be resolved. Alexander Stuglev, the chairman of the Board and chief executive of SPIEF, said that although he was reluctant to delve into political commentary, it was his considered opinion that relations with the West would require extraordinary effort to repair. He said the trust deficit had grown beyond measure, and in the meantime, Russians have readjusted their way of life to look away from the West. The growth of the Russian economy amidst the climate of Western sanctions, demonstrated by a stronger ruble, points to a better life after the West had left. Russia's gas pipelines, Nord Stream 1 and 2, which supplied oil and gas to Europe via Germany, had been lying in a moribund state since the sanctions. In fact, the Ukrainians had bombed Nord Stream 2, although no one has been held accountable so far. Gazprom, Russia's state-owned oil and gas company, says Europeans by Russian oil and gas behind each other's backs. But more openly, the EU member-states are known to buy Russian oil and gas via a third party in the form of India. The EU calls it 'Indian oil and gas', although India is not known to produce such products.
Russia Today
8 hours ago
- Business
- Russia Today
G7 is ‘unviable'
Russia has zero interest in the 'Group of Seven' (G7) format, as it is no longer viable, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has stated. He explained that the global dominance of the countries making up the group is nearing its end. Established in the 1970s, the G7 comprised Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the UK. In 1998, with Russia's inclusion the group was expanded to a G8. However, the country's membership was suspended in 2014 following Crimea's reunification with Russia, following a referendum on the peninsula. On Friday, Peskov said that 'our attitude toward the [G7], it's well known. It has long since stopped being an interesting and in-demand format.' According to the Kremlin spokesperson, 'Russia does not consider such a format viable because global trends indicate that the G7's share in global affairs and global economy will be inexorably shrinking.' The official noted that 'this is not seasonal volatility,' but a long-term trend. Alternative formats, such as BRICS, which comprises Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia as full members, have already overtaken the G7 in terms of their combined share in global economy, Peskov argued. The presidential spokesperson's comments echoed those made at the 28th annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025) by Maksim Oreshkin, the deputy head of President Vladimir Putin's administration, on Wednesday. 'Power centers are changing. The so-called 'Big Seven', which hasn't been 'big' for a long time, is being replaced by new growth hubs,' he said, pointing to the rise of countries in the Global South and East. Speaking at the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, US President Donald Trump expressed regret over the removal of Russia from the group back in 2014.'I would say that that was a mistake, because I think you wouldn't have a war right now if you had Russia in,' he argued.
Time of India
16 hours ago
- Business
- Time of India
Ashwini Vaishnaw meets Russian Deputy PM, discusses rare earth metals and infrastructure
Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & IT, Ashwini Vaishnaw , met Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk on Thursday. The meeting focused on strengthening cooperation in areas such as transport, connectivity, infrastructure, and rare earth metals . Taking to social media platform X, Vaishnaw said: "Had a productive meeting with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexei Overchuk. We discussed key areas of collaboration including transport, connectivity, infrastructure, and rare earth metals". The high-level meeting took place in St. Petersburg. According to a post shared by the Consulate General of India in St. Petersburg, the Union Minister is currently in Russia to attend the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF 2025), which began on June 18 and will continue until June 21. Before heading to Russia, the Minister inaugurated India's largest multi-modal automobile cargo terminal at the Maruti Suzuki India Limited plant in Manesar, Haryana, on June 17. The newly inaugurated Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal is expected to significantly boost logistics efficiency for automobile transport. The Manesar plant is now connected to the Patli railway station via a 10-kilometre rail link. This link is a key part of the 121.7-kilometre-long Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor, currently being developed by the Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC). An investment of Rs 800 crore has been made for the construction of this 10-kilometre rail link, with the HRIDC contributing Rs 684 crore and the remainder funded by Maruti Suzuki. With a loading capacity of 4.5 lakh automobiles annually, this is now the largest cargo terminal of its kind in India. During the inauguration, Vaishnaw emphasised the transformation in Indian Railways over the past decade. "Before 2014, the annual railway budget was around Rs 24,000-Rs 25,000 crore. Today, it has risen to Rs 2.5 lakh crore," he stated.
Daily Tribune
17 hours ago
- Business
- Daily Tribune
Gateway Unveiled
TDT | Manama Bahrain inaugurated its national pavilion at SPIEF 2025 in the presence of H.E. Abdulla bin Adel Fakhro, Minister of Industry and Commerce; H.E. Olga Lyubimova, Russia's Minister of Culture and Head of the Russia-Bahrain Intergovernmental Commission; H.E. Ahmed Abdulrahman Al Saati, Bahrain's Ambassador to Russia; and Alexander Stuglev, CEO of Rosscongress. H.E. Fakhro said the Kingdom's presence 'highlights our commitment to building stronger economic bridges and opening new avenues for collaboration,' noting over 190 active Bahrain-Russia business partnerships.
