Why SPIEF Forum in Russia is 'the Main Business Event' for Foreign Entrepreneurs

The International Economic Forum has kicked off in Russia's city of Saint Petersburg. Sputnik discussed the event and the prospects of the Russian economy with one of SPIEF's participants, Ian Colebourne, the managing partner of Deloitte CIS company.

The three-day meeting will bring together around 40 ministers from 26 countries, as well as top businessmen and representatives of various international organizations.

"The forum is for us the main business event. We see it as a great opportunity for us to connect with international clients, our Russian clients," Colebourne said.

Although the Russian economy went through turbulent times, Colebourne believes that it has good opportunities for further development. To some extent, sanctions and volatility of oil prices affected domestic production and domestic markets in a positive way.

Commenting on the state of Russia's economy, the businessman said:

"There is opportunity for growth. In any volatile situation there is opportunity. We have, over the course of the last two years, seen investments in two sectors,… most notably, I think, in agriculture and food processing. Both are the industries which have attracted a lot of investments, a lot of developments. But we also see that happening with other sectors, like manufacturing," the entrepreneur noted.

SPIEF, held in Russia's second largest city of St. Petersburg between Thursday and Saturday, is a major global platform for communication between business representatives and the discussion of crucial economic issues.

The agenda of the gathering will include key global economic and financial issues, as well as prospects for sustainable economic development.