Over the medium term, the Russian economy is expected to see the size of the working-age population decline by more than 3 million by 2026, with about 400,000 people leaving the workforce every year. At the same time, Russia continues to be a donor of highly skilled workers for economically developed countries. Immigration flows are not fully capable of meeting the needs of the economy, including future needs for skilled and highly skilled professionals.  

During the panel the speakers were proposed to discuss the following questions: what measures can contribute to accelerated technological renewal and the development of the Russian economy; how can high-performance jobs with decent wages be created; what changes does Russian immigration legislation require to attract highly qualified foreign specialists to the country and retain them on a permanent basis.

Among the speakers were: Kirill Adzinov, Head of Visa Department, Main Directorate for Migration, Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation; Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Congress of the Republic of the Philippines; Ilya Torosov, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation; 

Dmitry Yalov, Deputy Chairman of the Leningrad Region Government, Chairman of the Committee on Economic Development and Investment Activity and Gennady Kamyshnikov, Managing Partner of Government Relations, Deloitte CIS.