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Investors to Gauge Climate at Forum

The Moscow Times

When corporate leaders from around the globe gather in St. Petersburg on Thursday for the International Economic Forum, they will be treated to a picture of the country as modern and investor-friendly.

Special features this year include morning yoga, a business regatta and an open-air performance from British pop legend Sting on the city’s Dvortsovaya Ploshchad on Thursday evening, according to the forum’s cultural program.

Yoga might be welcome by participants eager to understand what is being said between the lines.

The Indian meditation practice aimed at achieving spiritual tranquility is reportedly a favorite pastime of President Dmitry Medvedev, who will attend the forum Friday and Saturday.

It is Medvedev’s political future that vexes investors as political uncertainty mounts in the run-up to December’s State Duma elections and the question over whether his “tandem” with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will continue after the March 2011 presidential vote.