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Photo Credit: http://www.blogsochi.ru
Despite a glooming economic scenario and political pressure by some of the Western countries, this year’s event proved a success.
The Sochi 2014 International Investment Forum has brought together 9,700 people, including 265 foreign delegates from 47 countries, 14 diplomats, and 1,250 journalists.
Most of the investors came from China, Germany, Turkey, France, Switzerland, and Japan. The other businessmen represent Slovakia, South Africa, Nigeria, Armenia, Italy, Belarus, the EU, Poland, Azerbaijan, and the UK.
Taking place for the 13th time, the conference offered a perfect opportunity for 79 Russian regions to present their case in a center with a floor area of 10,000 sq m. The Sochi Expocenter is the building of the former Sochi Olympic Media Center.
The business part of the agenda featured 6 roundtables, 24 panel discussions, a Sberbank-sponsored breakfast session, 4 master classes as well as other briefings and seminars.
13 federal ministers along with the premier and vice-ministers attended the conference to woo investors amid tightening sanctions and meager economic growth in one of the major members of the BRICS bloc.
According to the organizers, 88 agreements were signed worth some 250 billion roubles while the forum’s host, the Krasnodar Region concluded 310 deals worth more than 353 billion roubles. Sochi secured 9 contracts estimated at 15 billion roubles.
Speaking at the forum, Russia’s Prime Minister outlined the government’s strategy for tackling dwindling economic growth and bypassing restrictions slapped by the West over Russia’s alleged role in the Ukraine crisis.
The visitors also attended the unveiling of Sochi Autodrom, an arena for hosting Formula 1 events that was built on the territory of the former Olympic park. For the first time Russia will stage a Grand Prix of the race, with the event slated on October 10-12, 2014. According to the official website of Formula 1, the number of laps will be 53, and the circuit length is 5,853km.
Sources: http://www.lenta.ru http://ria.ru http://itar-tass.com http://www.business-gazeta.ru http://www.formula1.com
Author: Mikhail Vesely
