Expo 2017

From August 8 to August 10, 2017, during the international specialised exhibition EXPO 2017 held in Astana (Kazakhstan), the Northern Capital of Russia launched a business and cultural mission. The delegation included representatives of the St. Petersburg government authorities, heads of major industrial enterprises, and representatives of the convention and tourism sectors. The delegation was headed by Sergey Movchan, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg.

EXPO-2017 was hosted by the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the event's key topic was the use of alternative energy sources. The exhibition was held under the Energy of the Future motto. This was the first time for such a large-scale event to be held in Central Asia: according to the hosts, EXPO-2017 was attended by over 2 million experts.

St. Petersburg was represented at the exhibition by the Urban Energy display. The city's enterprises demonstrated their region's energy potential and latest technology at the Russian national pavilion. The mission's business programme featured a meeting between the St. Petersburg business community and Aleksandr Yakovlev, the commercial representative of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Russian national pavilion at the expo hosted the following round tables: 'The Energy of Innovation: the Industrial and Innovative Potential of St. Petersburg and the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Prospects of Collaboration Development in the Energy Sector', 'The Energy of Business: Implementation of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and SME Support Programmes in St. Petersburg and the Republic of Kazakhstan'.

Members of the convention and tourism communities, in turn, were able to discuss issues relevant to their sectors at a round table titled 'The Energy of Events. Events' Tourism Potential: Best Practices'. The meeting was arranged by the Convention and Exhibition Bureau of St. Petersburg and the Astana Convention Bureau.

One of the mission's highlight was a concert performance and a literary and musical recital at the K. Kuanyshbaev State Academic Kazakh Musical and Drama Theatre.

Meet Russia provided the following services:

• organisation of the business and cultural visit;
• fam-trip of the Russian delegation to Astana;
• representation of the Russian collective booth at the Expo2017.

Customer: Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovations of the St. Petersburg Government