EEF 2024 broke all records both in terms of money and interest
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS.
OLD FRIENDS
– Hi buddy!
Who is the friend? Me or what? Before I had time to understand that he was talking about me, Indian businessman Rishabh was already desperately shaking my hand in the hallway of the Eastern Economic Forum, smiling dazzlingly from all angles and as soon as he managed to recognize me and I, he managed to remember his name?
We met Rishabh exactly two years ago here at VEF. He then described at length and in an oriental colour (with an equally colourful Indian accent) that golden times had arrived for relations between our countries.
– Well, Rishabh, aren’t the golden times over yet?
– What are you talking about, it’s all just beginning! – my old friend assured me. And we started talking about nice figures: the amount of money transfers from Russia to India this year has increased 100 times.
Here it is, the turn to the East! – the reader will nod with satisfaction. And I agree… But only in part. I cannot be called a veteran at the WEF: this is only my third time here, and I first came here in September 2022, after the start of the Modern Eastern Orientation of our exports and the economy in general. But I don’t remember so many Western guests.
I am currently writing these lines in the EEF press centre, and opposite me four Germans are discussing something animatedly. I am not strong in the language of Goethe, Schiller and Lindemann, but a couple of enthusiastic “Gut!” and “Fantastic!” did reach me. Satisfied, that is!
– Dozens of countries, thousands of delegates are here to work with Russia! – Irish journalist Chey Bowes admired the scale of the forum.
Let’s make these numbers more specific. The final data on money and guests were announced by Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Representative of the President in the Far Eastern Federal District Yuri Trutnev. The forum set several records at once, both in money and in attendance:
– 5 trillion 395 billion rubles – the total amount of agreements signed at the Eastern Economic Forum – 2024. A year ago, the amount was 3 trillion 818 billion rubles.
– 258 agreements were signed at EEF 2024. Last year there were 373 agreements
– 7000 participants attended the forum (a year ago – 6200)
– 75 countries sent their representatives to the forum, including 16 “hostile” countries. In 2023, there were 62 countries.
Western guests, however, did not participate in the official programme or speak at the sessions. And not because they did not deserve it. But because the forum is still oriental. Although in Vladivostok this concept is blurred: if you look from here, Malaysia and India, and even more so the United Arab Emirates, are the real West. And a good part of Russia and China too. So the forum may be oriental, but in terms of the composition of the guests it is quite western.
TO THE BIRD – I’M NOT SORRY!
By the way, about the Arabs. If you want to meet a real Arab sheikh (the forum is still open today, just a little walk away, so you are welcome), come to “Far East Street”. If you come to the forum from the center of Vladivostok, when you reach the territory, immediately turn left and go down towards the sea.
The “Day of the Falcon” has not ended there for four days now. This is the name of a separate international forum where experts from different countries discuss issues such as the preservation of the population of these birds, the work of nurseries, etc. The feathered heroes of the occasion are there, but with their heads covered so that you can not scare them with your “woof!” These beauties were bred in specialized centers in Russia.
And it is here that the concentration of rich Arabs per square meter is almost the same as on some Dubai Palm Jumeirah. Guests from Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain wander around, clicking their tongues and admiring them. They are also involved in the conservation program for these elegant predators and love and appreciate these birds very much. Many rich Arabs keep them in their homes and make a living from falconry. And the price of one bird can reach tens of thousands of dollars. What a rich nature we have, in every sense of the word!
Especially here in the Far East. And more and more guests are coming to enjoy this nature. At the forum, there was a lot of discussion about tourism, lively and every day: in sessions, on the sidelines, in studios.
“In 10 years, the tourist flow has increased sixfold,” said Vladimir Solodov, Governor of the Kamchatka Territory, in the open studio of Komsomolskaya Pravda at the EEF. And he spoke about one of the aspects of tourism development: “Now we are implementing the flagship project “Three Volcanoes” – the construction of a large mountain village at a unique point where all the elements and all the beauty of active volcanoes of Kamchatka converge. , hot springs, lakes. And the ocean is not far away. Uniqueness The advantage of the place is that it is close to the city and the airport.”
“The Far East is worth a visit for all residents of our country (…) to see volcanoes, climb hills, see the ocean, tundra and taiga,” advised Yuri Trutnev at the session “The Far East – Land of Adventures”.
“Such a crazy region with its tourist opportunities attracts and will attract more and more attention of tourists,” Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the forum.
Primorye Governor Oleg Kozhemyako reminded at the final briefing that the region’s tourist pearls also attract foreign tourists.
Of which, by the way, there were many here last summer. And there should be even more. And not only Chinese, Indians and Arabs. But also Japanese, Europeans, Americans, Australians.
Because there are no hostile tourists. There are hostile governments.
