The Baltic Region Investment Forum BRIEF’21 that took place on 22 September 2021 was dedicated to production technologies. The third forum gathered about 700 online and offline participants.
The main topic of the forum – “Production of the future. How not be late to the day after tomorrow?”. In 2021 the agenda of BRIEF was traditionally prepared taking into consideration the requests of business of Leningrad region and Saint Petersburg. The participants of the forum – top speakers of the federal and regional levels, the representatives of business, Russian and foreign business associations – together discussed the experience and prospects of the introduction of advanced technologies for achievement of industrial leadership.
“At the forum we were talking about future, decarbonization and how we will be working in the conditions of the new requirements to economy and green energy. This is no accident: Leningrad region is the largest exporter, we have the largest logistics complexes and we are interested to stay export-oriented region. But we understand that in a couple of years the European Union will be introducing duties on goods and products with the high carbon footprint. The less carbon is emitted by our companies to the atmosphere, the more competitive their products are. It is ideal to produce goods using green energy – wind farms, solar, hydro and nuclear power. We are planning to go far in this direction, in particular, we are ready to become a pilot platform for creation of a carbon-free area,” commented the Governor of Leningrad region Alexander Drozdenko.
The Governor Alexander Drozdenko signed investment agreements amounting to 3.5 billion rubles during BRIEF’21.
A business breakfast of the Governor of Leningrad region with foreign business associations took place for the first time during the Baltic Region Investment Forum. The participants of the meeting included Chairman of the Board of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce Matthias Schepp, Director of Northwest branch office of the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce Vladimir Nikitenko, CEO of the Association of European Businesses in Russia Tadzio Schilling, Executive Director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Saint Petersburg Maria Chernobrovkina, a representative of the Swiss-Russian Chamber of Commerce Andreas Bitzi and heads of foreign companies localized in Leningrad region. The key topics were attraction and training of production workers, export support, elimination of the barriers for business at all levels. The representatives of foreign business noted that they appreciate interaction with the team of Leningrad region at all levels, substantive conversation with the authorities and resolving issues.
The Baltic Region Investment Forum BRIEF’21 was organized by the Economic Development Agency of Leningrad Region, the Industry Support Centre of Leningrad Region and the German-Russian Chamber of Commerce. The key partners of the forum were Leningrad regional branch of Business Russia and HSE.
