More than 1,300 people gathered at the SEZ-2025 International Forum in Nizhny Novgorod
More than 1,300 people gathered at the III SEZ-2025 International Forum in Nizhny Novgorod, which took place on September 18.
About 600 representatives of Russia's special economic zones, federal and regional authorities, and the business community from different regions of Russia and more than 10 countries took part in the SEZ forum in person. About 700 more people joined the online broadcast of the event.
During the day, in four panel sessions, participants discussed the regulatory framework of preferential territories and its optimization, business models and innovative infrastructure of SEZs, low-carbon development of industrial sites and international cooperation within special economic zones.
During the forum, Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Svyatoslav Sorokin reported on the upcoming changes in the regulatory framework. Now territories will be able to expand to meet the demands of large investors, and more flexible investment rules are being introduced for residents.
"We strive to make the rules more predictable and flexible. For large investors, it is important that the site is immediately available, and for management companies, so that the infrastructure can be built without unnecessary bureaucracy. The new rules take into account both of these requests," he said.
At the plenary session, the speakers touched upon the development of the institute of special economic zones, the prospects for its improvement and guidelines for integration into the international economic space. The discussion was attended by Deputy Minister of Economic Development of Russia Svyatoslav Sorokin, Deputy Director of the secretariat of the Chinese Center for Cooperation in the Special Economic Zones of the BRICS countries Fan Yujing, Deputy Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Andrey Sanosyan, Technical Director of the Management Company SEZ Sindh (Pakistan) Farid Ahmed Sheikh, Deputy of the State Duma of the Russian Federation, member of the International Affairs Committee Maria Butina and Director General of ANO "Public Capital" Asiyat Bagatyrova.
"Special economic zones are not only tax preferences and ready—made infrastructure, but also a customer-oriented team that is always ready to help an investor. I would like to mention two factors that currently play a significant role in the development of SEZs: digital services and industrial automation. The first point is extremely important for business convenience and prompt resolution of issues, the second is the best way to solve the problem of personnel shortage," said Andrei Sanosyan.
"SEZs are new opportunities for international business relations. Using the potential of the SEZ as a way of customs simplification is just beginning to gain momentum," State Duma deputy and member of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs Maria Butina said during the plenary session.
Fan Yijun, Deputy Director of the secretariat of the Chinese Center for Cooperation in the Special Economic Zones of the BRICS countries, spoke about the prospects of cooperation in the BRICS format. She noted the importance of digital solutions for simplifying investor interaction procedures and positively assessed the introduction of the Single Window platform in Russia ("Single Window for Investor Support").
The experience of Pakistan was presented by Farid Ahmed Sheikh, Director of the Sindh SEZ Management Company. He spoke in detail about the stages of the formation of the national SEZ system and expressed interest in developing cooperation with Russia.
According to Mikhail Labudin, director of the Association of Clusters, Technoparks and SEZs of Russia, over two decades the mechanism of special economic zones has established itself as one of the most effective tools for attracting investments and developing territories.
"Today we see that Russia is becoming part of global cooperation in this area, and the interest of international partners is only increasing," he stressed.
Throughout the day, the site hosted an exhibition of ten special economic zones of Russia, a stand of the Nizhny Novgorod SEZ Kulibin, as well as a Single window zone, where participants could get acquainted with the process of supporting investment projects in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Also, within the framework of the forum, 15 cooperation agreements were signed between development agencies, special economic zones and public organizations, including foreign ones.
The forum was organized by the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, the Association of Clusters, Technoparks and SEZs of Russia, the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the Nizhny Novgorod Region Development Corporation.
The forum's partners are Tool Group of Companies, Sintez Oka Group of Companies, and Spar Middle Volga LLC. The information partners of the event are radio holding "Choose radio", publishing house "Kommersant—Privolzhye", magazine "Russian Business Guide".
In 2025, the Nizhny Novgorod Region confirmed its status as one of the leading regions in the ASI National Investment Climate Rating, once again taking second place in it.