Coca-Cola, Boeing among US companies to attend Russia’s St. Petersburg Economic Forum
Major US companies will take part in the annual business forum in St Petersburg despite a boycott by the official US delegation, the head of the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Russia has revealed.
“These are the companies whose representatives will participate in the Russia–USA Business Dialogue panel discussion. Coca-Cola, Weatherford, Air Products, Boeing, AbbVie, Cushman & Wakefield, and others are among them, as well as the Baring Vostok company,” Alexis Rodzianko told journalists, as cited by TASS on Tuesday.
St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), which opens on June 6, is set to gather about 15,000 people from 75 countries, and 270 companies from all over the world.
Also on rt.com Kremlin wants to see detained US investor Calvey at Russia’s St. Petersburg Economic ForumWashington had earlier announced that it will not send a government delegation to the international business event. Last week, the US embassy in Russia said that its envoy to Moscow, Jon Huntsman, will not be attending SPIEF this year as a response to the house arrest of American investor Michael Calvey.
However, the absence of US officials at the forum will not stop American business reps from taking part in it, according to the president of AmCham.
“The representatives of American businesses will be [at SPIEF], I know it for sure,” Rodzianko said.
US investor Calvey, the founder and managing partner of the Baring Vostok private equity firm, is accused of embezzling 2.5 billion rubles ($38 million) from Vostochny Bank. Calvey, who denies any wrongdoing, was put in custody in February but later placed under house arrest until July 14.
Also on rt.com Moscow knows top Baring Vostok businessman as major investor in Russia, alarmed by his arrestCalvey earlier asked for permission to attend the forum in St. Petersburg. While the court has not announced a decision on the matter yet, the Kremlin said it would be great if the investor could join.
“Of course, we would like to see Michael among the participants of the forum because he’s been quite an active player in the Russian market for more than 15 years,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told RT.
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