The meeting was attended by Kirill Soloveitchik, chairman of St. Petersburg Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade; Sergey Voronkov, RUIE Board member and general director of Expoforum International; Mikhail Lobin, first vice president of St. Petersburg Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs; Denis Kravchenko, first vice chairman of the State Duma Committee for Economic Policy; Maria Glukhova, RUIE Executive Vice President; Aleksandr Murychev, RUIE vice president for financial policy and economic sectors development, and others.

Aleksandr Shokhin, RUIE president and co-chairman of the forum organizing committee, said that from now on, the Russian Industrialist Forum with the 25-year history will be held under the auspices of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs at the suggestion of St. Petersburg Governor Aleksandr Beglov.

In choosing the topics for panel discussions of the event, Aleksandr Shokhin proposed to pay special attention to the associated industries that affect the interests of industrialists.

“We believe that the topic of digital transformation is very important – there are problems with software and its localization. 5G projects should also be considered,” said Aleksandr Shokhin. He also stressed the topic of professional training. “Being a chairman of the National Council for Professional Qualifications, I cannot omit the topic of personnel training as a key to modernizing the economy. In the near future we may face the problem of unemployment; we need to think how to retain and support the old personnel, and train new professionals,” said Aleksandr Shokhin. Among the topics he proposed for the forum were expansion of industrial cooperation within the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union, issues of technical regulation and standardization. “I would like to see the forum as a venue for the annual statutory events of RUIE. We are considering the possibility of holding a RUIE congress at the forum,” concluded Aleksandr Shokhin.

Kirill Soloveitchik, Chairman of St. Petersburg Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade, said it was a “great decision” to hold the Russian Industrialist forum under the aegis of RUIE.

“I am sure that together with RUIE we will be able to make the forum a powerful federal event,” Kirill Soloveitchik said and specified that the forum should focus on regional industrial policy in conjunction with the technological challenges. He believes that the topic of personnel training in the context of project “Professionalism” implementation is also vital. 

RUIE board member and general director of Expoforum International Sergey Voronkov   named import substitution in the industry, industrial policy, digital transformation of the industry, modern engineering education and international industrial cooperation among the key topics of the forum.

“The digital transformation track in the industry concerns not only the IT sphere related to the delivery of software, but also the topic of digital transformation of the industry as a whole, the implementation of digital transformation strategies in various industries. The track of modern engineering education implies holding the Engineering Forum within the framework of Rosprom, where new approaches in the assessment of qualified personnel can be applied,” said Sergey Voronkov.

He stressed that it was especially necessary to provide the small and medium-sized businesses with the opportunity to participate in the forum and the associated exhibition.

Anatoly Turchak, Vice Chairman of the Organizing Committee, President of St. Petersburg Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs and RUIE Board Member, said that the project of giving a new status to the Russian Industrialist Forum was supported by the governor of St. Petersburg and the city business community. 

Mikhail Lobin, the First Vice President of St. Petersburg Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, emphasized that the forum can be used to discuss the problems that are presently countrywide.

“Federal officials could show how they see the future picture of our economy. The Forum is also about international relations, which are being difficult today. A number of industrial countries of South-East Asia could participate with their proposals and obtain new partners within the framework of the exhibition,” said Mikhail Lobin.

Aleksandr Murychev, RUIE Vice President for Financial Policy and Sector Development, suggested strengthening the international part of the forum and expanding the agenda for international cooperation within the EAEU.

At the end of the meeting, the organizing committee adopted the concept of the forum program, consisting of the following tracks: import substitution, modernization/digital transformation, human resources/modern engineering education. The exhibition concept was also approved.

The next meeting of the Russian Industrialist forum organizing committee will be held on June 25, 2022.

Prepared after the materials of the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RUIE)