St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2017

Russia is becoming increasingly popular with foreign investors, according to veteran US investor Jim Rogers.

The participants of the three-day St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) signed 475 agreements, worth around $32 billion, according to a statement by the Roscongress foundation.

Venezuela's US-backed political opposition has capitalized on the country's dire lack of foodstuffs, using the crisis to destabilize the local population. However, Russia won't allow this "food blackmail" of the country, the Latin American nation's Minister for External Commerce and International Trade told Sputnik.

Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves will star in a Russian movie about Pippi Longstocking, where he will play the girl's father, the picture's producer told Sputnik on the sidelines of the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Two pharmaceutical companies with Indian investments will start operation in Russia's Siberian Irkutsk Region in September, Sergei Levchenko, the region's governor told Sputnik Saturday.

Longstanding historical and political relations between Moscow and Beijing give an edge to Russian businesses over their international peers in China, an editor at Asia Weekly, Brian Yeung, told Radio Sputnik on the sidelines of the 21st St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forums (SPIEF) have long become a place where attending politicians and businessmen famously show their sense of humor cracking jokes and coining catch phrases that quickly go viral on the internet.

German Foreign Minister expressed hope that Normandy format talks on Ukrainian crisis would resume on the level of the heads of states.

Russian companies expressed their willingness at meetings with Syrian representatives on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) to participate in post-war reconstruction of Syria, Syrian Ambassador to Russia Riyad Haddad told Sputnik on Saturday.

Klaus Schwab, the founder and executive chairman of the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF), acknowledged that the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) has now become as well-known and prestigious as WEF, Sberbank CEO German Gref said Saturday.

Russian-Cyprus economic collaboration should cooperate in the science and technology field, CIPA board member told Sputnik on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg Economic Forum (SPIEF) on Saturday.

The Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and India signed a petition on the beginning of talks to establish a free trade area, a Sputnik correspondent reported Saturday.

Moscow and New Delhi have not yet worked out details on when to introduce bilateral trade in national currencies, Nirmala Sitharaman, India's Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, told Sputnik on Saturday.

Oxfam is willing to build a closer partnership with Moscow and believes that Russia can play a bigger role in the global humanitarian effort through funding and using its global power influence, Oxfam Humanitarian Director Nigel Timmins told Sputnik.

Low temperatures, occasional thunderstorms and even some snow: the weather brought unpleasant surprises for the participants of the 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. But inside the ExpoForum convention center, where the event was held, the climate was totally different.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Moldovan President Igor Dodon briefly discussed the issue of Russian diplomats' expulsion from Moldova on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Saturday.

The construction of the North-South gas pipeline in Pakistan is shifted for not less then 12 months over the disagreements between the parties on the tariff for gas pumping, Sergey Chemezov, CEO of Russia's state military equipment manufacturer Rostec said Saturday.

The economies of Russia and China could complement each other, Xiang Bing, a professor at the Beijing-based Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business, told Sputnik on the sidelines of the 2017 St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF).

Moscow is currently considering the possibility of providing Ankara loan for the purchase of Russian S-400 systems.

Russia's labor market is stabilizing as the downturn is coming to an end, Vsevolod Vukolov, head of the Federal Service for Labor and Employment (Rostrud) said Saturday.