He stressed that the evidence shows that when certain countries dictate their norms of behavior to others, it is often inappropriate, "and sometimes even harmful."
"In this regard, we believe that the implementation of international anti-corruption standards should always take into account the specific features of each state," Ivanov added.
"On behalf of my own country, I would like to underscore that the Russian Federation is actively involved in international dialogue on a broad range of matters related to countering corruption, and we stand ready to share our experience and best practices," he added.
Ivanov expressed hope that the conference in Russia’s northern capital would become a perfect platform for working out practical approaches to eradicating graft and corruption.
"Corruption destabilizes national economies, undermines human rights, the principle of fairness and provokes social tensions in states. And it’s only by joining our efforts, we’ll be able to effectively counter this threat that comes to all of our countries," he concluded.
The conference opened in St. Petersburg on Monday and will continue until Friday, November 6.
The issue of cooperation in the public and private sectors and ways to prevent and combat corruption will be the focus of the Conference, which brings together delegates from some 160 states including more than 50 heads of national anti-corruption agencies and more than 90 non-governmental organizations operating in the anti-corruption, educational, legal, social and environmental spheres.
