Photo credit: vecherka-spb.ru
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will not take place this year, according to RIA Novosti. According to Andrei Belousov, who heads the organizing committee, it is caused by an outbreak of coronavirus in countries that planned to take part in the forum. He noted that the forum is canceled to protect the health of Russians, guests and forum participants.
The chairman of the organizing committee recalled that the World Health Organization had declared an emergency of international importance in connection with the infection.
It was planned that the forum will be held in St.Petersburg in early summer. One of the discussions was meant to cover the economic consequences of epidemics. They were planning to invite heads of international and Russian organizations in the field of healthcare, representatives of the scientific community and international business to participate in the discussion.
The authorities of St. Petersburg called the decision to cancel the forum “extremely unpleasant”, but said that they fully support it. According to the vice-governor of the city, Yevgeny Yelin, the city administration "understands the motives" and "shares the concerns" of the organizers. “We do not have the right to endanger the many guests and participants of the forum,” he said.
Last year, the forum brought together almost twenty thousand participants from 145 countries, which was a record figure in its history. Other record levels were set in terms of the volume of signed agreements - forum participants entered into 650 agreements totaling 3 trillion 100 billion rubles. The forum has become an important platform for discussions on ways to develop the global economy, climate change, digital technologies and other pressing issues.
Russkiy Mir
