Despite the further spread of the pandemic, the International Business Congress continued its work in 2021. For the first time in the history of the Congress, the 24th Annual General Meeting was held in a hybrid format. The IBC members and guests had the opportunity to participate in the events of the forum in person in studios in St. Petersburg and Singapore, as well as online in real time.
More than 500 IBC members and invited guests participated in the in-person and on-line formats at the meetings of the IBC Working Committees, the Plenary Session and the International Conference on "Challenges and Opportunities of Growing Energy Markets in Asia" held from September 14 to September 17.
In his welcoming address to the participants of the 24th IBC Annual General Meeting, Dr. A. Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee of Gazprom and the IBC President, noted that despite the ongoing pandemic, the Congress had once again attracted a large and professional audience from 25 countries.
The vivid discussions during the Working Committees’ meetings focused on current trends in the global economy in the pandemic era, digitalization issues, and climate goals of the IBC member-companies.
The General Meeting elected Dr. B. Frei, Member of the Executive Committee and Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric Industries SAS as successor of Mr. L. Mukhamedov, Schneider Electric Industries SAS. Ms. Frei became a new Chaorlady of the “Information and Communication” Working Committee.
After the Plenary Session the AGM participants took part in the International Conference on "Challenges and Opportunities of Energy Markets in Asia". The conference was moderated by Dr. A. Medvedev, Advisor to the General Director of Gazprom Export LLC in the studio in St. Petersburg and Mr. S. V. Eddrenkine, General Manager, Gazprom Marketing and Trading Singapore Pte. Ltd. In the studio in Singapore.
The presentations at the conference were made by Dr. A. Miller, Chairman of the Management Committee, Gazprom; Prof. K-D. Maubach, Chief Executive Officer, Uniper SE; Mr. G. Kunihiro, President, Diamond Gas International Pte. Ltd.; Dr. B. Frei, Member of the Executive Committee, Executive Vice President, Industrial Automation, Schneider Electric Industries SAS; Mr. Lee Pak Sing, Assistant Chief Executive Officer, Enterprise Singapore and Mr. Dato Mohammad Medan bin Abdullah, Group Chief Executive Officer, Bintulu Port Holdings Berhad.
The year 2021 was wrapped up by the joint meeting of the IBC Working Committees: “Information and Communications” and “Industry, Innovation and Prospective Development” and the meeting of the "Ecology and Healthcare” Working Committee held in a hybrid format in December in Dubai, UAE.
