ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th April, 2021) Italy's Liguria region will likely not send a delegation to the 2021 edition of Russia's Innoprom industrial fair and St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, and will be represented instead by its Russian-based companies, Maria Vedrinskaya, the Russian consul general in Genoa, told Sputnik.
Italy was set to be an honorary guest at the 2020 Innoprom exhibition in the city of Yekaterinburg in July and to send a big delegation to the annual SPIEF in June, but both events were canceled due to the pandemic. This year, SPIEF and Innoprom will be held from June 2-5 and from July 6-9, respectively.
"In Yekaterinburg and in St. Petersburg, a broad participation was planned, but as far as Liguria's companies are concerned, they can only be represented by those companies that are already in Russia, they will not be able to go physically there due to coronavirus restrictions," Vedrinskaya said.
A two-week quarantine for those returning from abroad is still in place in Italy, which complicates the citizens' travel plans, according to the diplomat.
"Even big local companies do not want to travel because of the restrictions, but they will still be represented by those who are in Russia: for example, by the very large Termomeccanica Pompe, which has a joint enterprise in Chelyabinsk, by Piaggio and others, which, we hope, will participate at the forum, but through the representative offices in Russia," the consul said.
Liguria President Giovanni Toti confirmed to Sputnik that the region was not going to send its delegation to the summer forums.
In 2019, delegations from 110 countries, including China, Germany, France, Italy, and the United States, arrived in St. Petersburg to take part in the economic forum. The number of those who will participate this year will be revealed in May.
The Innoprom International Industrial Trade Fair, which is organized by the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade, has been held annually in Yekaterinburg since 2010. Each year, the fair focuses on a particular industry and has a partner country to chair it. The topic for 2020 was supposed to be Resilient Production, and Italy was selected as the partner country.
The SPIEF forum is one of the world's largest global platforms for economic consultations. Every year it gathers high-level state officials, including heads of state and government, prominent businesses and experts, to discuss the most pressing economic issues on the regional and international agendas.
