The forum was held in a "hybrid" format: online and offline. The business program was devoted to economy in general, as well as to the topics of SMEs of the SCO and BRICS countries, tourism and export.

Tadzio Schilling shared the positive experience of AEB members in exporting goods produced in Russia. Some European companies export as much as 60% of their production. The AEB CEO especially emphasized the contribution of European businesses to the development of business activities in the regions including the Republic of Bashkortostan noting its high investment potential.

He also spoke about the main challenges and opportunities for companies interested in the EU market, especially in connection with the Green Deal initiative.

Talking about the prospects of interaction between Russia and the EU, Mr. Schilling said, "As of today there are a great number of challenges both for European and Russian business which should be overcome together. European businesses, in its turn, are ready for reciprocal actions". 

The speakers of the panel session were also:

Andrei Nazarov, Prime Minister of the Republic of Bashkortostan

Sergey Vologodsky, Vice-President of the Russian Export Center   

Roman Chekushov, Director of the Department of Agricultural Export Development of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation

Francesco Forte, Consul General of Italy in Russia 

Inna Rykova, Head of Branch Economy Center, NIFI 

Vladislav Onishchenko, President of the Center for Agricultural Economics.

The session was moderated by Nikolay Uskov, Editorial Director of Forbes magazine.