German firms and AfD politicians attend St. Petersburg forum amid sanctions

German business representatives and members of the AfD travelled to St. Petersburg for the International Economic Forum held June 3‑6, marking the first official German presence at the event since the Ukraine war prompted years of avoidance. The forum expects tens of thousands of delegates from dozens of countries and focuses on emerging markets, Asian partners and Africa.

The German delegation includes leaders from dairy producer EkoNiva, Globus Group and AfD lawmakers Markus Frohnmaier, Jörg Urban, Steffen Kotré and Petr Bystron. Matthias Schepp, head of the German‑Russian Chamber of Commerce, said the trip aims to keep the economic bridge and protect “more than €100 billion of German assets in Russia”. About 1,600 German firms still operate in Russia, with bilateral trade now below €10 billion. Host Vladimir Putin opened the forum, and discussions covered Russia’s economic reorientation after sanctions, trade with China and India, and future topics such as artificial intelligence, digitalisation and climate change.