German businessmen will participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum 2026 in Russia 0 11

Representatives of German business will participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which will take place from June 3 to 6. This was reported on Sunday, May 31, by the agency dpa, which studied the event's program.

In particular, the business dialogue "Russia - Germany" will feature the founder of the agricultural holding "EkoNiva" Stefan Dürr, shareholder of Globus Holding GmbH & Co KG (the "Globus" hypermarket chain) Thomas Bruch, and others. The session will be moderated by the chairman of the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade Matthias Schepp.

Schepp himself stated in an interview with dpa that he wants to "maintain economic ties with Russia and protect over 100 billion euros of German assets" in it - "not least in anticipation of a ceasefire." "The West should not concede Russia, its vast market and raw materials to Asia for long," Schepp continued. The Russian agency RBC reports that among the countries that Moscow calls "unfriendly," Germany will be most widely represented at the forum.

Before the full-scale war unleashed by Russia against Ukraine, Germany was the largest trading partner of the Russian Federation in Europe. The trade volume between the two countries in 2021 amounted to 59.7 billion euros, and at the peak of activity in 2012 - 80 billion euros.

German business plans to remain in Russia

According to a survey by the German-Russian Chamber of Foreign Trade, referenced by dpa, 75 percent of its participants stated that they are satisfied with the development of their business in Russia. Two-thirds are convinced that Western sanctions have a strong (49 percent) or very strong (18 percent) impact on the Russian economy. More than a third of respondents believe that the restrictions harm Germany more than the Russian Federation.

When asked whether Germany should resume gas and oil purchases from Russia, 65 percent answered that it should do so as soon as possible. At the same time, 31 percent of respondents believe that such a decision should only be made after "the guns in Ukraine fall silent."

Members of the Bundestag from the "Alternative for Germany" will participate in SPIEF

Representatives of the far-right "Alternative for Germany" (AfD) faction in the Bundestag Steffen Kotré and Matthias Moosdorf, as well as the head of the AfD branch in Saxony Jörg Urban, will also participate in SPIEF, according to the official program of the forum. In a conversation with the newspaper Bild, Member of the European Parliament from AfD Petr Bystron also expressed his intention to attend the event in St. Petersburg.

According to Bild, the invitation sent by Moscow to AfD politicians emphasizes that SPIEF should contribute to "strengthening business, political, and cultural relations for the benefit of a just world and a secure future." The document is signed by Anton Kobyakov, a close advisor to Putin. The letter explicitly states that the President of the Russian Federation will participate in the event.