Русский
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 (SPIEF) starts in St. Petersburg today (June 3) with a high profile of guest attendees. The guest of honour this year is the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which will be represented by Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and includes Industry Minister Bandar Alkhorayef and Investment Minister Fahad Al-Saif. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Russia-Saudi diplomatic relations.
Also attending is the Chinese Vice President Han Zheng, the Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez Parrilla, and significant delegations from India, ASEAN, the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa, and Latin America. The Kremlin has stated that 20,000 participants from 100 countries are expected to attend. Among them, for the first time in a decade, will be an official American delegation, led by Rodney Cook, the U.S. administration’s commissioner of fine arts. Cook is the lead commissioner for building the President Trump ballroom in the White House, is close to the president, and is set to address the Russia-U.S.: Dialogue of Cultures session. US businesses are also expected to hold numerous meetings with their Russian counterparts in a renewed sense of potential engagement. No official delegations are attending from European Union members or the United Kingdom.
President Putin will be making a plenary speech at SPIEF, in which he typically outlines Russia’s investment policies, economy, and areas of potential opportunity. He also typically participates in various Q&A sessions with visiting dignitaries. These can yield surprisingly frank and open discussions and opinions.
Although SPIEF is a Russia-wide event and features officials, exhibitions, and stands from all of Russia’s regions, the event tends to focus on developments to the West and, more recently, Africa and the Middle East. The autumn Far Eastern Economic Forum, based in Vladivostok, tends to focus on more Asian affairs.
The 2026 SPIEF events programme may be downloaded here and is in Russian-English bilingual format.
Russia’s Pivot To Asia is attending SPIEF. To keep abreast of developments, including Putin’s speeches and other key events from SPIEF 2026, please subscribe to Russia’s Pivot To Asia here to receive the latest updates. Our Twitter account (X) is also updated daily and may be accessed here.
