Today marked the conclusion of the business programme of the Kazan Legal International Forum, which was sponsored by the Government of the Republic of Tatarstan and EPAM. The Forum brought together around 700 participants from 26 countries to share the latest developments in legislation and trends in law enforcement.

The Forum opened with a greeting from Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev. In his message, Dmitry Medvedev observed that Kazan has become a unique platform for discussion, bringing prominent lawyers together with government and business leaders from a variety of countries to consider current issues in law and the economy. “There is huge interest in these topics because the law has the potential to become a key factor in economic growth,” the Prime Minister noted.

The subject of the plenary session was ‘The Legal Environment as a Key Factor in Economic Growth’. Participants in the Forum also discussed topics related to attracting investment, touched on current issues in dispute resolution, including international arbitration, considered the future of the digital economy in Russia, and reported on the latest significant changes to Russian legislation. Representatives from government agencies took part in sessions on antitrust regulation, reforms to supervisory activity, protecting the rights of businesses, environmental legislation, and notary institutions. Special attention was given to issues arising when doing business abroad in the present economic and political climate and risks for top managers.

The Forum included 42 sessions with nine satellite sessions, and more than 150 speakers took part, including President of the Republic of Tatarstan Rustam Minnikhanov, the Chairman of EPAM Dimitry Afanasiev, Head of the Russian Federal Antimonopoly Service Igor Artemiev, Member (Minister) of the Eurasian Economic Commission Board for Trade Veronika Nikishina, Russian Presidential Commissioner for Entrepreneurs' Rights Boris Titov, Co-Chairman of ‘Business Russia’ Andrey Nazarov, Chairman of the Board of the Association of Lawyers of Russia Vladimir Gruzdev, and President of the European Commission for the Efficiency of Justice Georg Stawa.

Following the plenary session, a meeting took place between Rustam Minnikhanov and Dmitry Afanasiev to discuss the preliminary outcomes of the Forum and prospects for further developing joint projects (read morе here).