We were delighted to be invited by the Russian Deputy PM and the Russian Ambassador HH Alexander Yakovenko to the St Petersbourg Economic Forum 2017. Senior Partner Sarosh Zaiwalla, Managing Partner Pavani Reddy and Russian speaking Solicitor David Manyasan attended and participated in various events.
Heads of state Russian President Vladimir Putin, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Austrian Prime Minister Christian Kern and Moldovan President Igor Dodon were the guests of honour.
With 39 ministers from 26 countries participating in the forum, and a total estimated number of participants including businessmen and representatives of various international governments touted to reach 5,000, the SPIEF is known to be a major deal-making event, with $17 billion worth of deals not subject to commercial secrecy made in 2016. The forum wields considerable soft power, countering the dominance of western economies, allowing for a regional cooperation with some of the significant world players such as India and China. With 39 ministers from 26 countries participating in the forum, and a total estimated number of participants including businessmen and representatives of various international governments touted to reach 5,000, the SPIEF is known to be a major deal-making event, with $17 billion worth of deals not subject to commercial secrecy made in 2016.
Russian companies such as Rosneft and Gazprom mingled with heads of Indian Companies such as Commercial Indo Bank, Dr Reddy’s, Sun Group and Murugappa.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned, the bilateral relationship has never had any ‘ups’ and ‘downs’ but rather has always moved ‘forward’.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his commitment to formalise India’s membership to the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) - a political, economic, and military bloc founded in 2001 in Shanghai by the leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
Sarosh Zaiwalla said of the event: "Having participated as a representative signifying the ties between both the countries, I bore first hand witness to the promise and potential India and Russia have for each other. This is an uncertain world for India to deal with – hostility from its neighbours, Brexit in the UK, protectionism in the US, and the reshuffle of the global order. But pillaring through all this is the solid foundation that Indo-Russian ties offer as a beacon of stability."
