Russia expects major Saudi presence at SPIEF
Mustafa A. K. Sabri, secretary general of JCCI, second left, with Sergey Kuznetsov, consul general of Consulate General of Russia in the Kingdom, left, Maxim Osintsev, managing director and head of oil & gas coverage, at Sberbank, second right, and Ara G. Margaryan, SPIEF - Arab world project manager, in Jeddah. (AN photo)
Published: Feb 20, 2010 23:47 Updated: Feb 21, 2010 15:53
JEDDAH: Russia will host the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) June 17-19 under the theme of "Managing the Economic Recovery." The forum aims to offer top global decision makers an important opportunity to assess post-crisis measures, examine key global macroeconomic trends, and exchange ideas on ways to adjust strategies that will foster stronger economic growth.
Last October, the Jeddah Economic Forum (JEF) signed a MOU with the SPIEF resulting into their partnership. Both have since been promoting and collaborating with each other.
The forum is being held under the patronage of the president of the Russian Federation since 2006. As a result of October's MOU, the organizers of SPIEF say they expect a significant Saudi contingent at the forum this year.
They are also inviting a delegation of young Saudi entrepreneurs to the first Youth International Economic Forum, which will be organized in June 15-16 in St. Petersburg just before the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum takes place.
The MOU between SPIEF and JEF aims to lay the foundation for cooperation between the two, in particular to develop an ongoing dialogue with the participation of officials and business representatives from the two sides, SPIEF - Arab world Project Manager Ara G. Margaryan told reporters on the sidelines of the recently concluded JEF.
Attending the St. Petersburg forum presentation in Jeddah were Mustafa A. K. Sabri, secretary general of JCCI, Sergey Kuznetsov, consul general of Russian Consulate General in Jeddah, and Maxim Osintsev, managing director and head of oil and gas coverage at Sberbank, the general partner of the SPIEF.
Apart from Sberbank and SPIEF, the Russian delegation attending JEF comprised Solar Projects, Lommeta (a construction company from Novosibirsk), and Sibstroyconstruction (an investment company from Tyumen). They participated at the JEF for the first time with the support of SPIEF Foundation.
The signing ceremony of the MOU between SPIEF and JEF took place during a plenary session of Russian-Saudi Business Forum, held during the Second Russian Exhibition in Saudi Arabia.
The exhibition was conducted with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation, RABC, the Council of Chambers of Saudi Arabia, the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Embassy of Russia in Saudi Arabia, the Russian Consulate General in Jeddah, the Saudi Embassy in Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation, representatives of Russia of the Organization of the Islamic Conference and the All-Russia Public Organization of Women in Business.
"Signing of the memorandum demonstrates that the parties intend to develop Russian-Saudi dialogue, both at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and at the Jeddah Economic Forum. This event has attracted the attention of the Saudi business community, which still knows very little about Russia and its investment opportunities," Margaryan added.
Russians are also trying to tap the solar energy market in the Kingdom with their know-how. Russians got the technology and they want to collaborate with Saudi Arabia in this field.
Evgeny Zagorodny, Solar Projects' CEO, saw Saudi Arabia as a major potential partner in solar energy development. He said that there had been a complete change of attitude in the past year. International interest in the Kingdom as a source of solar energy stemmed in large part, he said, from a statement last year by Saudi Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali Al-Naimi that Saudi Arabia "wants to be a major solar energy exporter in the region - if not the world".
"Saudi Arabia has the space and the resources to make that happen," Zagorodny said.
SPIEF, which is trying to attract experts from Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, gathers every year 2,500 participants, including 1,500 business leaders (300 CEOs of the world's foremost companies) and 1,000 Russian and international government representatives, Margaryan said. SPIEF program includes over 30 interactive panel and workshop sessions, 300 speakers and over 50 award ceremonies, company presentations, press conferences and FDI agreement signing ceremonies, he added.
The first Russian-Arab world business dialogue was held in June 2009 during the SPIEF, and was organized by the Russian-Arab Business Council. The business dialogue aroused great interest among forum participants and had a significant audience. The event was attended by Amr Al-Dabbagh, the founder and first chairman of the JEF, and currently governor of the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA), and Mazen Batterjee, vice president of the JCCI.