Eastern Economic Forum: Russia's Major Business Event Explained

The annual Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) kicks off on September 5th in Russia for the seventh time since Russian President Vladimir Putin established it back in 2015 (with a brief pause in 2020 due to the pandemic). This year's forum will last four days instead of three and will be dedicated to a brand new agenda: the emergence of the multipolar world and its effects on global business cooperation among the countries.

Historically the forum has attracted officials and business leaders from around the globe and remained popular throughout the years. The first forum took place in September 2015 and was attended by 2,500 visitors from 32 countries. With the exception of post-pandemic EEF-2021, the number of guests has grown over the years. At its peak in 2019, the EEF hosted 8,500 people from 65 countries.

The Eastern Economic Forum, one of the biggest business forums in Russia, holds a number of keynotes, speeches, presentations and sessions, held by Russian officials, as well as by companies and experts from other countries. Most of the forums heavily focused on the economic prospects of Russia's eastern regions and the possibilities for cooperation with foreign businesses, mostly from the Asia-Pacific region, to unleash the region's potential.

The EEF became a major platform for signing agreements between businesses both large and small for the joint development of projects. The volume of these agreements has grown over the years: what started as $21.5 billion in agreements in 2015 jumped to $59.8 billion at EEF-2021 – and that is only the volume of business deals which values were publicly revealed.

The forum is also routinely attended not just by officials and ministers from other countries, but also by foreign leaders: former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended every EEF between 2016 and 2019, South Korean presidents visited the forum twice, and Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga became a frequent guest at the event. Chinese President Xi Jinping as well as the Prime Ministers of India (Narendra Modi) and Malaysia (Mahathir Mohamad) also visited EEF in various years.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attended every EEF that was held, and the seventh one in 2022 won't be an exception. The Russian head of state will deliver his keynote speech on September 7. It is expected to be dedicated to the collapse of the unipolar world model and the emergence of new world order, where countries' unique development paths are respected by other foreign states.

Apart from hosting high-profile guests and business negotiations worth billions of dollars, the EEF entertains its guests with various cultural and sports programs. Russia's famous Mariinsky Theatre stages concerts, operas and other performances for the attendees every year. Since 2016 the EEF has held a regatta almost every year, as well as an International Judo Tournament.

The guests also had a chance to attend festivals of national folklore, visit Hermitage Museum expositions and witness aqua shows in the evening.