Vladimir Putin spoke at the plenary session of the 22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum.
May 25, 2018
18:00
St Petersburg
St Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary session. Photo: TASS
Foreign heads of state and government, heads of major Russian and international companies and banks, leading experts and politicians from around the world were invited to the forum. Honorary SPIEF guests include French President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe.
The plenary session participants also include IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde as well as Vice President of the People's Republic of China Wang Qishan.
The forum’s theme this year is Creating an Economy of Trust.
* * *
Excerpts from transcript of St Petersburg International Economic Forum plenary session
Panel moderator, Editor-in-Chief of Bloomberg News John Micklethwait: Thank you very much. It is a great pleasure to be here.
This is, as, I think, you can all see, an extraordinary panel. I think we have roughly a third of the world’s GDP. We have maybe a quarter of its population, though with Madame Lagarde here we can perhaps claim we have a 100%.
I have searched in vain to find a panel that includes as many world leaders on one panel, even if you look at it from an Asian perspective. It is very rare to find the leaders of… such leaders from China, Japan and Russia in one room.
I think the coming together is a tribute to Mr Putin’s energy and power of persuasion. But it may also just be a sign of Donald Trump’s unique ability to bring people together. (Laughter. Applause.) Without him…although he could be… he likes surprises… and he often changes.
The format is each of the panellists will come up and deliver some brief opening remarks, and then we will have a discussion between all of us. The aim is for the first remarks to be relatively brief so we can have a full and frank discussion afterwards.
The first panellist to talk is our host, the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr Emmanuelle Macron, Mr Shinzo Abe, Ms Lagarde, Mr Wang Qishan,
Ladies and gentlemen, friends,
I am delighted to welcome all of you to the 22nd St Petersburg International Economic Forum, Russia.
The St Petersburg meetings have become a good tradition. We value the forum’s atmosphere of trust and openness. We have just exchanged opinions, as they say, on the sidelines, about the forum, and Ms Lagarde just told me that she was pleasantly surprised by this friendly atmosphere.
Such a discussion and an informal dialogue are particularly important today when the international political, economic and trade system is undergoing a major strength test, and the environment for doing business and making investments, as well as everyday life, going through dynamic changes too.
READ MORE AT
http://tributetoapresident.blogspot.com/2018/06/st-petersburg-international-economic.html
Such a discussion and an informal dialogue are particularly important today when the international political, economic and trade system is undergoing a major strength test, and the environment for doing business and making investments, as well as everyday life, going through dynamic changes too.
READ MORE AT
http://tributetoapresident.blogspot.com/2018/06/st-petersburg-international-economic.html