Int'l economic relations to dominate first day of Petersburg Economic

ST. PETERSBURG (Itar-Tass) - The first day of the Petersburg
Economic Forum will be dominated by international economic issues.
The International Energy Agency will present its medium-term review of
the main trends in the oil and gas sector. The document analyses changes
in demand for hydrocarbons and demand in key consumption sectors, gives a
comprehensive assessment of investments in oil production and processing,
studies oil flows and oil supplies, as well as spare capacities in OPEC
countries.
The gas market analysis contains assessments of regional demand and
supply, investments in infrastructure, changes in price factors and
prospects for the market of unconventional gas and globalisation of trade
in the CIS.
There business dialogue will be held in parallel, focusing on Russia's
economic relations with the United States, the European Union, and India.
When discussing the main problems of strategic partnership between
Russia and the U.S., the panellists will focus on Russia's accession to
the World Trade Organisation and identify priorities for key areas of
cooperation: high technologies, infrastructure, transport,
machine-building, energy, and aviation.
The president of the Russian Union of Industrialists and
Entrepreneurs, Alexander Shokhin, will moderate the discussion.
Post-crisis changes in the global economy and current integration
processes will be in the focus of the Russia-EU dialogue. Its participants
will also discuss the creation of a common economic space between Russia,
Belarus and Kazakhstan, the dynamics of EU development and possibilities
for building a common economic community from Lisbon to Vladivostok.
Experts in the Russian-Indian dialogue will concentrate their
attention on how to harmonise long-term development strategies: Russia's
Strategy 2020 and India Vision 2020.
Analysts say that the two countries experience high demand for
high-tech products and innovations. The panellists will talk about how to
overcome the information barrier between countries, promote joint
innovation projects, and commercialise results of research.
The discussion on the CIS will include the strengthening of
cooperation through a multilateral free trade zone, and further
development of the Customs Union and the Common Economic Space.