Putin May Focus St. Petersburg Forum Speech on Foreign Investment in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin is likely focus on Russia's interest in attracting foreign investment while addressing foreign business representatives at the upcoming St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The 2016 SPIEF is due to be held in the Russian city of St. Petersburg on June 16-18. The forum is attended annually by business and official representatives from dozens of countries.

"Regarding the message that the president plans to deliver to foreign participants of the St. Petersburg forum, I can say that work on the president's address has just begun, and it is too early to make predictions. However, I can say with a large degree of confidence that the president will, as he has done at every forum, focus on our interest in foreign investment and a continued broadening of cooperation with foreign companies," Peskov said.

Russia remains dedicated to implementing a range of large-scale projects aiming to reduce dependence on oil, Peskov stressed, adding that the country is an integral part of the world economy with a large internal market.

The SPIEF has been held annually since 1997, with the latest event taking place in June 2015. While many EU officials shunned the forum, it was attended by Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, China's President Xi Jinping, as well as heads of state of Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Mongolia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Iraq.