ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — The inauguration ceremony started at 8 a.m. local time (05:00 GMT) and was attended by Ramesh Abhishek, the secretary of India's Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
According to the Indian side, the inauguration ceremony should show India's intention to have "a bright future in partnership with Russia."
According to Yury Ushakov, the Russian president's aide, 30 Indian companies would participate in the SPIEF, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold negotiations within the framework of the forum.
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 discussion of crucial economic issues. Rossiya Segodnya International Information Agency is the official media partner of the forum.
