The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, or SPIEF, is to be held from May 22 to 24 next year rather than in June, as every previous forum has been since the annual event's inception in 1997.
Deputy Economic Development Minister Sergei Belyakov announced the change Monday in Abu Dhabi while speaking at the first joint session of the SPIEF and the Federations of the United Arab Emirates Chambers of Commerce and Industry, the forum's organizers said in a statement.
More than 5,000 government and business leaders from Russia and abroad assembled for the 2013 forum, which saw such revelations as President Vladimir Putin's decision to merge the Supreme Court and Supreme Arbitration Court, and his approval of an amnesty plan for businessmen jailed for economic crimes.
