Many foreign companies will participate in Russian Investment Forum in Sochi despite sanctions - Deputy Prime Minister

SOCHI, February 14. /TASS/. A lot of foreign companies will take part in the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi, despite the sanctions, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Kozak said in an interview with TASS. "The interest in Russia is enormous. It is not so much about the market for the goods, which is not the largest in the world, but about investment opportunities in our country, regional investment projects, and they will traditionally be widely represented in Sochi," he said. According to the Deputy Prime Minister, the list of foreign participants includes representatives of Siemens, Alstom, Duracell, Enel, ExxonMobil, Fortum, Hyundai Motor, Mercedes-Benz, Renault, Mitsui & Co, Nestle, Ikea, Goldman Sachs and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). "This is another signal to those politicians who rely on various kinds of sanctions, absolutize possibilities of administrative restrictions in economic life. The economic interest always forces its way through. When one ignores this famous formula it always leads to an inadequate response to economic challenges and may create chaos," Kozak stressed. He noted that 4,500 people from 65 countries confirmed their participation in the forum. "For reference - there were 2,600 participants from 43 countries in September 2016. Almost 1,500 media representatives were registered at the forum, more than 200 foreign companies are expected to participate this year, including US companies and companies from almost all of the EU countries," the Deputy Prime Minister added. Despite the regional focus of the forum in Sochi, its international aspect remains, Kozak stressed. "Some kind of rebranding of the forum, the emphasis, I stress it, on the regional component only in the name of the forum, on the investment opportunities of the Russian regions, did not result in reduction in the number of foreign participants," he said. The Russian Investment Forum is a key annual event for presenting investment opportunities in Russia’s regions and for substantive discussion of regional development issues. This year it will be held on February 15-16. Read more