Shatha Khalil *
It was concluded yesterday in the Russian city of St. Petersburg the business of the forum of “international economic Petersburg 2017”, which was held this year in its version of the 21 under the slogan “Achieving a new balance on the global Economic Arena”. The theme of this year’s forum is in search of new balance in the Global Economy.
The forum is, which lasted three days, a leading global arena for meetings between businessmen and discussion of the world’s major economic issues.
The elite of politicians, economists and businessmen from around the world participated in the Forum, including Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Laibi, and Undersecretary of the Ministry of Oil Mutasim Akram , where there was a great interest for the Iraqi delegation, where Laibi met the Russian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of energy.
On the sidelines of the forum , Iraqi Oil Minister Jabbar Laibi stressed that the gradual privatization of the gas stations and other infrastructure facilities for the marketing of oil will contribute to the improvement of performance in the energy sector, stressing that it is an urgent and important step to improve performance, it is useful to mention here since the receipt of the Ministry of Oil by the oil independent expert Jabbar Laibi, it witnessed a tangible and clear progress in its performance, which reflected positively on the Iraqi economy.
With regard to the independence of the of Kurdistan Region and its impact on oil prices, Laibi confirmed , that independence is a political move, and will not have a significant impact on oil prices., Adding: “Iraq once again is trying to get out of the agreement of reduction of oil of “OPEC” countries , and outside it.
Iraq has a vital strategic and economic weight in the region, despite the situation and the challenges faced by confronting terrorism, but his presence is important and effective.
The participants also in the forum include the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani, the Prime Minister of India , Narendra Modi, and Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern, Saudi Minister of Energy Khaled Al – Faleh, along with other important political and economic world figures .
And the most important signed agreements is the agreement with the Kurdistan region of Iraq , which was chaired by Nechirvan Barzani to explore and develop five fields, and a package of agreements with the region in the field of oil with the company “Rosneft, and in the areas of logistics services , infrastructure development and trade of energy resources, and here the question arises : Are the contracts in the Kurdistan region, or in Kirkuk, or In the disputed areas, as it has not been clarified?
A spokesman for the company “Rosneft” Mikhail Leontief said : The Russian company has signed contracts with the Kurdistan Region in the areas of exploration and logistics services, infrastructure development and trade of energy resources, for 20 years.
“Rosneft” company has made it clear, a major company among the Russian oil companies in the management and development of major oil export pipeline, which runs from Kurdistan to Turkey, in a statement that the pipeline’s capacity currently stands at 700 thousand barrels per day, but it did not disclose the value or quantities of oil to be imported under contracts, which is due to be increased to more than one million barrels by the end of this year.
The company added that the signed contracts include the basic conditions for cooperation in the establishment of a joint institution to implement a long – term contract in the field of infrastructure in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The Kurdistan region is a promising market for foreign investment in the field of energy, according to the official of “Rosneft”, as the region has reserves estimated at 45 billion barrels of oil and 5.7 trillion cubic meters of gas, and those agreements came as the complement to the memoranda of understanding signed between the two sides in February 2016, on the sidelines of the conference of “international Petroleum week” in London.
On the sidelines of the forum, the Saudi Energy Minister Khaled al – Faleh discussed with his Russian counterpart Alexander Novak the increase of cooperation between the two countries, especially technological ones, and an agreement to extend production cuts for a period of additional 9 months until March 2018.
It is worth noting that the producing countries from inside the “OPEC” and beyond , such as Russia agreed by the end of the last November 2016 to reduce the production by 1.8 million barrels per day to absorb the oversupply and address the deterioration of prices.
The Russian company “Gazprom Neft” confirmed its participation in energy projects in the Kingdom, and the establishment of joint research centers for the development and introduction of advanced technologies in the field of oil and gas, including a project for the industry of oil equipment to be used , in addition to sell them in other markets.
And among the important participations in the Forum is the Indian participation, the participation of Indian Prime Minister Narendra as the guest of honor, who stressed that the attention was focused on economic relations during his talks with Putin and managers of major companies in the two countries.
The Economic Forum included 108 events in various areas, including plenary and dialogue sessions, as well as the event of the “round table” and television debates. The Forum discussed its works in four main trends: the dynamics of the global economy, and the plan of the current work of the Russian economy, modern technology, the human factor as the basis for development, and indicators of overcoming the recession, and ways to strengthen this dynamic and assess the challenges and risks associated with the introduction of new technologies. ”
The Economic Forum is a unique international event in the world of economy, in which the participants discussed the key economic issues facing Russia and the whole world, and is a platform to attract foreign investment into the Russian economy.
Russian President Vladimir Putin believes that the vast changes that are currently taking place in the world require effective measures by the international community to enhance the international governance architecture in order to take coordinated steps to ensure that all population groups benefit from the fruits of globalization and thereby guarantee sustainable and balanced development .And he pointed out that the initiatives and recommendations the Forum produces will contribute to developing common , consolidated approaches , and the contracts and agreements executed on the Forum ‘s sidelines will give impetus to international cooperation and help to launch and implement new, mutually advantageous projects .
And the Forum shed light in its sessions on the issues of Shanghai Cooperation Organization , and the bloc of countries “BRICS” (Russia, India, Brazil, China, South Africa), as well as topics of Forum of “Valdai”, noting that A session of the world Festival of Youth and Students was organized on the sidelines of the forum for the first time .
The Forum focused on the small and medium – sized enterprises, and the development of cooperation from Lisbon to Vladivostok, and held two conferences: for the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) , one deals with cooperation between Russia and the countries of Latin America and the area of the Caribbean sea in the field of small and medium – sized enterprises, and the other highlights on the activity of women in the Business sector in Europe and Arab countries, as well as sporting events such as football , basketball, tennis, chess, billiards and golf games , and cultural activities include theatrical performances , concerts and exhibitions.
The program of the Forum in 2017 reflects, according to the Russian President’s Advisor and Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee of the Forum Anton Kobiekov, the current economic trends in Russia and the challenges facing the global economy currently, and the participants also discussed the prospects for sustainable development of the global economic system.
The program of Petersburg International Economic Forum included a session for the states of “BRICS” and a session for the states of the “Group of Twenty” allocated for investment and world trade, in addition to important meetings.
According to Kobiekov, the issues of the Forum 2017 have been studied professionally and in accordance with modern economic trends, and added that “economic imbalances in Russia and the world in recent years need a new balance, so the heads of States and Government and managers of major corporations and senior participants of international experts in the work of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, focused on how to develop a balance in the global economy.
The Economic Forum in Russia dates back to 1997, under the name “Petersburg International Economic” Forum, and since 2006, Russian President Vladimir Putin is Taking part in an annual basis,
And so- called “Russian Davos forum,” because of its size and the level of participants in its activities of politicians and economists around the world.
Russia signed during the events of the forum last year, 332 agreement and a deal worth 1.024 trillion rubles, equivalent to about $ 15.5 billion, which shows the magnitude of the project and its importance.
At the last session of the forum, Putin stressed the close links between the economy and politics, and that Russia is not seeking a cold war with the West, and considered economic sanctions on Russia are a double – edged sword, and recommended European businessmen to look forward with Russia to restore confidence in the European – Russian relations, and re – cooperation between the two sides.
Putin pointed out then the size of the financial recession in Russia, which leads to a sharp drop in oil prices, and after China ‘s accession to the European – Asian companies to be more effective and vibrant than ever before, Putin aspires that the partnership to turn into a major partnership pointing out that the establishment of China a comprehensive economic and trade partnership with Europe , with the participation of economic Union countries and Russia, will affect the relations of cooperation with Russia.
And the governor of the city of St. Petersburg Georgi Boltavcnko pointed out that businessmen from the Middle East and Latin America are showing interest in the Forum, and the Forum will see the return of dialogue between sectors of business of those countries after a cease of three years due to Western sanctions against Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Russian economy has entered a new growth phase, in conjunction with increased investment in the country.
He noted that the economy is growing for the third consecutive quarter, and in the month of April GDP grew, according to preliminary estimates by 1.4%, and is associated with higher car sales and increase in residential loans, these indicators are an important guide to the recovery of the Russian economy, increasing demand for consumer goods, and experts and investors perceive the high efficiency of the Russian economic policy.
Putin said that investment growth exceeded GDP growth, where foreign investment in the Russian economy in the first quarter of this year has reached about $ 7 billion, which is the best indicator over the past three years, and so the proportion of investment growth in the first quarter was amounted of 2.3% compared to the same period of the last year.
Putin added that Russia is open to the implementation of projects and cooperation in the issues of the development of global economy, and unify efforts to ensure sustainable growth of the world economy and the face of international challenges to overcome the current imbalance, and poverty reduction, and the development of fair rules for trade and competition.
The Russian minister Novak added, that the world is watching Russia’s activities in the field of energy, and is interested to cooperate with it in the field of oil and gas, and energy occupied the ample space of the work of the Forum, noting that the participation of 20 ministers from different countries underlines the importance of the Forum in the international arena, stressing ” the future of oil and gas.”
Novak stressed that all participants agreed that the era of traditional energy resources will continue for several decades, and the demand for energy resources will peak in the period between 2040 and 2050.
And he pointed out that despite the development of renewable energy sources, but it does not cover the growing demand for energy in the world, and share of these resources in the year 2040 will be about 80% of the global energy sector, compared to 10% for renewable energy sources.
Novak noted that Russia is implementing several strategic projects at the present time, the most important one is the Russian gas transportation project through the Baltic seabed to Europe “Nord Stream 2”, and the Russian gas transportation project to Turkey via the Black Sea bottom “Turkish stream” and the project of “Yamal” aims to develop the South Tambi field of semi Peninsula of Yamal in the far north of Russia, which its reserves of natural gas are estimated by about 1.3 trillion cubic meters, and the “Yamal” project includes the construction of a plant of liquefied natural gas with a production capacity of 16.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas annually.
Economic Unit
Rawabet Center for Research and Strategic Studies