The President of Russia Invited French Business Leaders to Participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in June 2010

MOSCOW, March 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- A forum of French and Russian business leaders took place on March 2, 2010 in Paris, as part of the President of Russia's state visit to France. The organizers of the forum were the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) and the Movement of French Enterprises (MEDEF). The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) also assisted in organizing the forum.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev participated in the meeting, where he invited the French business community to participate in SPIEF 2010.

Christine Lagarde, the French Minister for the Economy, Industry, and Employment, confirmed France's interest in participating in SPIEF 2010 as a high-level delegation.

Alexander Shokhin, President of the RSPP, and Alexander Zhukov, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation, mentioned the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum in their speeches. Zhukov stated that "France is a major guest at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum," since this is a principal economic event of the Year of France in Russia.

In the words of the management of Alstom, the French engineering group, SPIEF 2009 enhanced the development of economic relations between Alstom and Gazprom. An agreement signed between the two companies at that time is currently being successfully implemented.

More than 200 entrepreneurs from France and Russia participated in the business leaders' forum. Every speech emphasized the long-term character of the cooperation between Russia and France in economics, politics, and culture. A wide range of questions were examined at the forum, including basic ones such as investment and banking cooperation, the electrical energy industry and energy efficiency, cooperation in the aerospace and gas industries, transport, auto manufacture, and telecommunications, as well as in the social sphere.

Russian President Medvedev noted that the "Partnership for Modernization in Russia" initiative, proposed by him in the fall of 2009 at the Russia-EU summit in Stockholm, would be ready in time for the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2010. As Dmitry Medvedev hopes, this project will "give the Russian economy the ability to adapt more quickly to modern life."

Both sides agreed that the dialogue between Russia and France would continue at SPIEF 2010.

St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Official Web-site: http://www.forumspb.com. +7-812-680-00-00, [email protected]

SOURCE St. Petersburg International Economic Forum Foundation