Last week, St. Petersburg — Russia’s cultural capital — hosted SPIEF 2025, the country’s flagship international forum for dialogue on business, diplomacy, and global development. And right there — at the heart of the conversation — were our InteRussia journalists.
Forum Coverage
SPIEF isn’t just about panels and policy — it’s a dynamic media environment where InteRussia fellows gain real-world reporting experience. For the second year in a row, our journalists from the Middle East and North Africa have been on the ground, producing news reports, working in press centers, and witnessing diplomacy at its highest level firsthand.
Among the standout interviewees this year are
⭕️Maria Zakharova, Director of the Information and Press Department at Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
⭕️His Royal Highness Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud, Minister of Energy of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
⭕️Péter Szijjártó, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Hungary,
⭕️Ibtisam Ahmed Said Al-Farouji, Undersecretary for Investment Promotion at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Investment Promotion of the Sultanate of Oman,
⭕️Sheikh Khalifa bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, President of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities.
Dialogue Without Borders and Exchange of Experience
Our journalists also took part in the session “Dialogue Without Borders: Youth Cooperation for the Future.” Among the speakers was Mohammed Hassanein, Director General of BlueBee Productions and InteRussia fellow, who shared Egypt’s experience in international youth engagement and building horizontal diplomacy through content and storytelling.
SPIEF 2025 proved once again that it's about voices being heard, stories being told, and new connections shaping what comes next. Want to be part of the next story?
The InteRussia program in journalism is implemented with support from the Presidential Grants Foundation and World Youth Festival Directorate.
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