St. Petersburg Economic Forum opens
Dragging Russia from its dependency on oil to an economy driven by innovation is President Medvedev’s top priority, and he wants foreign capital and know-how to help achieve it.
The St. Petersburg Economic Forum is an event built to re-launch Russia on the road to economic recovery.
This is the reason that world business heavyweights have gathered in St. Petersburg.
After two tough years, the war in Georgia and global financial crisis, business leaders are preparing to sign major deals in St. Petersburg which could lead to the country’s economic recovery.
The official slogan of the event is “Laying the Foundation for the Future”.
Russia’s plans to attract economic development and latest technology will be the main themes of the two-day event, according to Dmitry Medvedev’s top economic advisor Arkady Dvorkovich.
Ahead of the forum, Medvedev met America’s biggest venture capitalists, companies that look for the best untapped opportunities around the world to make money. The Russian President invited them to invest in Russia’s hi-tech project Skolkovo on the outskirts of Moscow.
The economic forum is taking place as Europe faces the potential of another damaging debt crisis.
There is mounting speculation that Spain is about to follow Greece and ask for a whopping bailout from the EU.
Speaking on the eve of the forum, Dmitry Medvedev said such measures are helpful, but only if applied carefully.
“In any case, you need to find a happy medium. You cannot destabilize economies; you cannot extend aid blindly in a situation where all has been lost anyway. You have to be sober in your reasoning,” Russian President warned.
On the other hand, Medvedev went on, “You should take some reasonable measures to support a number of weak economies in order to save the general idea. And the general idea is the common European market and the common supranational European currency, the euro.”
“Yet indefinite solidarity and ineffective aid is, of course, a dangerous strategy. Eventually, it can undermine anything, even the European Union. Then even those countries that are not in danger today may face problem with solvency later. So what you need is a happy medium,” he concluded.
PLace here
