Drnovsek to Travel to Russian "Davos" on Tuesday
President Janez Drnovsek will on Tuesday attend the opening of the 10th International Economic Forum in Russia's Saint Petersburg, nicknamed the Russian "Davos".
The event, entitled "Man in the World Order of the 21st Century: Economy, Politics, Culture and Living Standards" is to be opened by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The three-day forum will also offer an opportunity for informal bilateral meetings, with some sources even hinting at a possible meeting between Putin and Drnovsek.
Interestingly, Drnovsek first met Putin in February 2001 on the margin of a skiing world cup event in Austria when he was still prime minister. The meeting was followed by Drnovsek's visit to Moscow a month later, upon the invitation of Putin.
The next time Slovenia's political leaders met Putin was on the sidelines of the Bush-Putin summit in June 2001 in Slovenia. Furthermore, FM Dimitrij Rupel also visited Moscow in July 2001.
While still prime minister, Drnovsek met his Russian counterpart Mikhail Kasyanov twice in 2002, while the then President Milan Kucan met his Russian counterpart Putin at that time.
The last visit of Slovenian politicians to Russia was PM Janez Jansa's 29 - 31 May official visit with one of the biggest government and business delegations ever to accompany a senior Slovenian official abroad.
This year's event will be the largest so far with nearly the entire Europe as well as Asian countries and the US making their appearance, the organising Russian Ministry of the Economy and Trade has said.
The strong international attendance has become a mainstay of the forum with over 4,000 guests expected this year alongside top Russian politicians, including Putin, FM Sergey Lavrov and Minister of the Economy and Trade German Gref.
The main subjects of the forum's jubilee 10th edition will revolve around globalisation and development issues, with economics ministers of various up-and-coming economies such as Brazil, India, China and Russia making their appearance alongside top level economists, including 2001 Nobel Prize winner Joseph Stiglitz.
The forum is also expected to stress energy-related issues and the ways to make Russian gas more available to the European and world markets. Indeed, the main sponsors of the event are Russian energy companies, including gas giant Gazprom.
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