DODIK: GRATITUDE TO PUTIN FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE FORUM

SAINT PETERSBURG, JUNE 18 /SRNA/ - Republika Srpska President Milorad Dodik stated that during his stay in Saint Petersburg, he will participate in the International Economic Forum and, on the sidelines of the event, hold a series of bilateral meetings, one of which could be with the President of Russia Vladimir Putin.

Dodik told Izvestia that he is glad to visit Russia again and expressed his gratitude to President Putin for the invitation to the Forum, which brings together the economic and political elite from around the world. "The most important event of the Forum is the plenary session at which President Putin will speak, as tradition dictates, in what I believe will be a witty, yet very precise and powerful speech on the current situation not only in the Russian Federation but also globally," Dodik stated. He announced meetings with a delegation from Saint Petersburg, the leadership of Tatarstan, with whom Republika Srpska aims to further enhance already good relations, and with numerous officials from the region and around the world who will attend the Forum as guests. “There will also be several major Russian companies with whom we already have cooperation. I certainly believe we will have the opportunity to arrange an important meeting with President Putin,” Dodik said. The International Economic Forum starts today in St. Petersburg, with the Republika Srpska delegation led by President Milorad Dodik. The Republika Srpska delegation also includes the Minister of Scientific and Technological Development and Higher Education, Željko Budimir, the Minister of Trade and Tourism, Denis Šulić, the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Alen Šeranić, as well as the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations in the Council of Ministers, Staša Košarac. Twenty thousand participants from 140 countries have confirmed their participation in this year’s 28th International Economic Forum. The forum will include more than 150 events, including forums of the SCO and BRICS, the G20 regional business community forum, and a plenary session featuring the participation of the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin. The main topics of the forum will include development-oriented economics, new technologies, environmental protection, and the role of humans in the new world, that is, issues related to quality of life, health, education, and the preservation of traditional values. The forum, titled "Shared Values – The Foundation of Growth in a Multipolar World," will last until Saturday, June 21.