This figure was announced by the Chairman of the St Petersburg Health Committee, Valery Kolabutin, at the opening ceremony of the St Petersburg International Health Forum. According to Kolabutin, the state programme will enable new healthcare facilities to be built, hospitals and polyclinics will be equipped according to international standards, and the latest medical technologies will become accessible to Russian citizens. As a result, the country's population will grow and life expectancy will increase. “All this is the result of the huge amount of painstaking work done by the organisations represented here today at the Forum. This year, the new Expoforum Convention and Exhibition Centre highlighted the potential of the healthcare industry through participants from 12 Russian regions and 14 other countries, making this event an additional effective resource for the development of the sector in Russia”, Kolabutin noted.

This view was supported by the Deputy Chairman of the St Petersburg Legislative Assembly, Pavel Soltan, who added that the Forum is also a unique platform for sharing experience, where specialists have the opportunity to find out about new global approaches and projects and present their own scientific research, thereby helping to improve the quality of healthcare for all.

The St Petersburg International Health Forum is the only platform for professionals in the healthcare industry which brings together the three main players in the MICE industry ‒ ExpoForum International, Messe Düsseldorf Moscow and Primexpo. The high level of interest from the professional community is testament to the Forum’s significance: in 2013, it attracted more than 3,500 specialists from various sectors of the industry.