THE Roscongress International Cooperation Area will be open at the 29th St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), to be held from 3 to 6 June 2026. This communication and thematic platform format, developed by the Roscongress Foundation’s international platform Roscongress International, has established itself as an effective ecosystem for dialogue between representatives of government, business, and expert communities from Russia and abroad. The project was successfully launched in 2025, when the Roscongress International Cooperation Area was first organized at SPIEF and subsequently at the Eastern Economic Forum.
In 2026, the Roscongress International Cooperation Area’s partners, tested by time and joint projects, will continue to actively advance the international business cooperation agenda. The Area’s infrastructure will include partner stands, meeting rooms, an open lounge zone, and a presentation space. The Area will be located in Pavilion E, opposite the stand of SPIEF guest country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
“The success of the Roscongress International Cooperation Area in 2025 confirmed its strategic significance as a unique ecosystem for international dialogue. This is where international business addresses concrete tasks: presenting its capabilities, conducting negotiations, and agreeing on the launch of joint projects. The Area’s infrastructure provides everything needed for this. In 2026, we look to the future with confidence and are delighted to welcome our partners, with whom we share a track record of successful collaboration. Their continued participation in the project confirms that our format is in demand for building relationships of trust,” said Alexander Stuglev, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Roscongress Foundation.
The partners of the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at SPIEF 2026 will be the Russia–ASEAN Business Council, the Russian-Thai Business Council, the TV BRICS International Media Network, and the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority.
The Roscongress Foundation has for many years maintained a successful partnership with the Russia–ASEAN Business Council, both in enriching the business agenda of events in Russia and in organizing events abroad. The Business Council has served as a partner of Foundation forums in Malaysia and Indonesia. At SPIEF 2025, the Russia–ASEAN Business Council was already a partner of the Area, co-organizing a joint stand with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC). Work is currently underway to promote the Business Forum on the sidelines of the Russia–ASEAN Summit in June 2026, and a joint business event in the Philippines is also being explored.
“Cooperation with the ASEAN countries is strategic in nature: this is one of the most dynamic regions in the world, and we see significant potential for developing trade, economic, and investment ties. This year we mark the 35th anniversary of relations between Russia and ASEAN. Last year’s experience confirmed that the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at SPIEF enables entrepreneurs to find partners, establish cooperation, and discuss joint initiatives. We expect the Forum to serve as a natural continuation of our shared agenda and an important event in this anniversary year,” said Ivan Polyakov, Chairman of the Russia–ASEAN Business Council.
The partnership with the TV BRICS International Media Network, successfully realized by the Roscongress Foundation’s international platform Roscongress International in 2025 in the form of a joint television studio at SPIEF, will be continued in 2026. At the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at SPIEF 2026, TV BRICS will once again organize a dedicated media space for interviews with business leaders and government officials.
“The TV BRICS studio in the Roscongress International Cooperation Area will give SPIEF participants the opportunity to share their expert views with an international audience of many millions, significantly raising the profile of key topics and enhancing their personal professional effectiveness. Every day, TV BRICS and its media partners create a space for media diplomacy where business and government can interact productively to develop trade and economic relations between the BRICS countries and advance investment projects,” said Zhanna Tolstikova, CEO of the TV BRICS International Media Network.
The Roscongress International Cooperation Area will also feature a partner stand of the Russian-Thai Business Council (RTBC). In 2025, the RTBC served as a partner of the Area at the Eastern Economic Forum, where it hosted a series of meetings with Thai business representatives. In November 2025, the Council organized the 1st Russian-Thai Investment Forum (RTIF) in Phuket, the largest business event in the history of relations between the two countries, with the Roscongress Foundation as a partner. The Second Russian-Thai Investment Forum is planned for the Kingdom of Thailand in October 2026.
“Our engagement with the Roscongress Foundation is an important element of our development strategy. We launched our first business dialogue at SPIEF 2025 and successfully served as a partner of the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at EEF 2025. The Russian-Thai Business Council is now actively preparing for the 2nd Russian-Thai Investment Forum in Bangkok. The Area at SPIEF 2026 will be the ideal setting for us to hold negotiations with potential partners ahead of this major event,” said Ivan Demchenko, Chairman of the Russian-Thai Business Council.
One of the new partners of the Roscongress International Cooperation Area at SPIEF 2026 is the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA). On 15 May 2026, the Roscongress Foundation, together with TISEZA and the Russian Export Centre, and with the support of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development, held the Russian-Tanzanian Business and Investment Forum in Arusha, Tanzania, on the sidelines of the session of the Intergovernmental Commission on Trade and Economic Cooperation, giving fresh impetus to the development of bilateral ties. Previously, in December 2025, TISEZA participated in the “Strengthening Trilateral Cooperation” Dialogue on the sidelines of the Second Ministerial Conference of the Russia–Africa Partnership Forum in Cairo, affirming its interest in systematic engagement with the Russian business community.
“On 15 May 2026, we successfully held the Russian-Tanzanian Business and Investment Forum, which gave a powerful boost to trade and economic cooperation between our countries. Just a few weeks later, on the sidelines of SPIEF 2026, the Tanzanian delegation will have a unique opportunity to advance its agenda, strengthen bilateral relations, and present Tanzania’s investment potential to the Russian business community.. Relations between Russia and Tanzania are flourishing and developing dynamically today. I am confident that the Roscongress International Cooperation Area will prove an effective platform for negotiations, finding new partners, and launching joint projects,” said Gilead J. Teri, Director General of the Tanzania Investment and Special Economic Zones Authority (TISEZA).
The Roscongress International Cooperation Area is an open space accessible to all SPIEF 2026 participants. Here, visitors can engage directly with the Foundation’s international partners and foreign delegates, learn about Roscongress International’s global projects, and present their own initiatives. The Area is equally valuable for Russian companies and regions seeking reliable foreign counterparts: its comprehensive infrastructure enables a series of negotiations to be conducted in a short space of time, projects to be presented, partners to be found for joint initiatives, and concrete steps towards entering foreign markets to be discussed. A visit to the Area offers a unique opportunity to meet key players in international business all in one place.
“The Roscongress International Cooperation Area is not simply a negotiating platform: it is a fully-fledged access point to the Roscongress Foundation’s international agenda. We have made it as open and convenient as possible for all Forum guests. I would like to express particular gratitude to our international partners. We value the trust they place in us and cherish the opportunity to build long-term relationships with them. It is important that our collaboration does not end with a single project: joint initiatives continue across other Foundation platforms in Russia and abroad. Around the Roscongress International Cooperation Area, a genuine international community of like-minded partners is taking shape, united by a common goal: developing mutually beneficial business cooperation. I would also emphasize that Russian companies and regions will be able to find foreign partners here without unnecessary barriers, and receive first-hand expert guidance on entering the markets of Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Latin America. We invite everyone with an interest in international cooperation to visit our Area,” said Alexandra Ogneva, Deputy CEO and Head of the International and Regional Cooperation Directorate of the Roscongress Foundation.
