President Rajapaksa was received by St. Petersburg Deputy Governor Sergei Alexei Ivanovich.

Sri Lanka will make a debut appearance as an observer at the 15th Annual St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEP) held at St. Petersburg from June 16 to 18.

The forum, held annually with the participation of Russian President, brings together prominent politicians, corporate executives and experts to discuss key issues of the global economy.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will inaugurate the three-day forum on June 16th, which brings together over 5,000 political and business leaders in the world. Leaders of large economies including Chinese President Hu Jintao, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Finnish President Tarja Halonen and Kazakhthan President Nursultan Nazarbayev, the official website of the forum said.

The members of academia and experts in various fields will discuss and deliberate various issues and problems facing Russia and the world in general at this forum.

The theme of this year’s forum is 'Emerging Leadership for a New Era'.

The forum will focus on securing global growth, building Russia’s creative capital and expanding technology horizons.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited Russia in February last year as his first official visit to a foreign country after being sworn in for the second term of office on an invitation extended by his Russian counterpart Dmitri Medevedev

The People’s Friendship University of Russia conferred a honorary doctorate on President Rajapaksa in recognition of his service for the successful eradication of terrorism and establishment of peace in Sri Lanka. It was the first official visit made by a Head of State to Russia after a lapse of 36 years. Former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike made official visits to Russia in 1963 and 1974.