The Sri Lankan delegation led by Hon. Wimal Weerawansa, Minister of Industries of Sri Lanka and Hon. Ajith Nivard Cabraal State Minister of Money & Capital Market and State Enterprise Reforms of Sri Lanka visited the XXIV International Economic Forum which was held from 2-5 June 2021 in St. Petersburg in Russian Federation. H.E. Prof. M.D. Lamawansa, Ambassador of Sri Lanka in the Russian Federation also joined the two Sri Lankan ministers for their visit to St. Petersburg.

Participants from the Sri Lankan delegation attended the session 'the changing face of small business: new challenges and objectives' discussed how pandemic has had a massive impact on all areas of life and how most business owners have overhauled and adapted their business to adjust to the new normal. That session also discussed issues such as how the key priorities of SMEs have and the state changed, how to achieve national goals and facilitate sustainable business development, whether SMEs need digital transformation, the knowledge required by businesses today to be successful tomorrow and the role of associations in supporting small businesses during the pandemic.

The session 'Tourism and the Hospitality Industry': New Investment and Technological Opportunities for the Sector' discussed the task of developing a high-quality tourist product by Russia was also attended by the Sri Lankan side. As part of a new national project entitled 'Tourism and the Hospitality Industry', as well as the national project to develop the country's export potential, Russia is developing measures to increase the flow of tourists with the aim of increasing the proportion of exports from tourist services from USD 8.9 billion (2017) to USD 15.5 billion (by 2024). Further that session discussed that Russia has enormous potential to develop this sector, given that the country boasts unique natural resources and sites of global cultural and historical significance and the government is actively supporting the development of domestic tourism, not only by funding and improving infrastructure but by working directly with citizens through innovative financial solutions with the help of modern technologies. Further, that session discussed key challenges faced by the sector currently, the new state support measures to develop infrastructure and spaces and the ways of making the tourism industry more attractive to investors.