Nearly 4,200 Journalists From 30 Countries Register to Cover SPIEF, Kremlin Aide Says

"As for the coverage of the forum by journalists... 4,188 journalists from 30 countries have been registered by now," Ushakov said.

He said that that total of 40 high-ranking delegations from over 40 countries are expected to participate in the event.

"A fairly large number of guests are expected. And if we talk about high-ranking delegations from abroad, official, government delegations, then we expect that these delegations will come from more than 40 countries of the world," the official told reporters, adding that the participation of heads of major foreign companies and banks is also expected.

The Kremlin official mentioned that 1244 Russian companies and 265 foreign companies have confirmed their attendance.

"There will be no official representatives from unfriendly states at the forum," Ushakov said, adding that the forum’s participants plan to talk about the economic changes in the world and sanctions pressure on Russia.

Ushakov also noted that president Vladimir Putin will hold meetings with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Armenian President Vahagn Khachaturyan and Milorad Dodik, the Serb member of Bosnia and Herzegovina's tripartite presidency on the sidelines of the forum.

Putin at St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF)

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The Russian president plans give his assessment of the current situation in the global economy and politics during his speech at the forum, he added.

"As for the president's speech, it is being prepared now, and it is expected that the president will give an assessment of the current situation in the world economy and politics, of course, we will talk about the problems that the world economy is facing today, about unfair interstate competition, trade and financial wars, sanctions, restrictions, and so on," Ushakov told reporters.

The jubilee XXV St. Petersburg International Economic Forum will be held in St. Petersburg on 15-18 June.