OREANDA-NEWS. From 16 to 19 July the inspection commission for the World Energy Council (WEC) came to Russia to assess the country's bid to host the 24th World Energy Congress as well as the annual WEC Executive Assembly in St.Petersburg in 2019.

Presentations on Russia's potential were given by representatives of the Ministry of Energy of the Russian Federation, the Russian National Committee of the WEC, the Plenipotentiary Presidential Representative to the Northwestern Federal District, the St Petersburg City Administration, and ExpoForum International.

During their visit, employees of the WEC central office were shown the city's transport, logistics, and hospitality infrastructure, all of which possess a high capacity. The employees were also shown the new ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre, currently under construction, where the main events of the congress would be held.

In addition, the WEC delegation noted that St.Petersburg's energy infrastructure offers many sites of interest for specialists visiting the forum, and that an interesting, diverse, and highly refined cultural programme is also on offer thanks to the city's rich cultural heritage.

As Sergey Voronkov, General Director of ExpoForum International, noted, the opening of the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre means that St.Petersburg will be able to host events befitting the city. “Making use of new resources, our company is implementing its strategy to make St.Petersburg part of the international events circuit, and is actively participating in bidding campaigns to host these events”, he said.

The inspection committee will submit its findings as a report to the WEC, and the final decision will be taken after the presentation of the bid, given by the Russian delegation under the leadership of Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich on 21-22 October 2014 in the city of Cartagena, Colombia.