Participation in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) is “my choice.” Such opinion was expressed by the Polish entrepreneur Pawel Korfanty, who came to Russia for the SPIEF, a global business platform.

Mr Korfanty is a breeder who creates new varieties of berries. He engages in the cultivation and promotion of American blueberries and Japanese honeysuckle.

“I am 100% focused on Russian agriculture and the berry crop industry. To put it bluntly, I feel very comfortable working with Russian businesses. I have many friends from Russia. We work together and our trade union was formed long before all the political upheavals. The main goal is to expand to the countries of the former Soviet Union, although Russia itself is very large, its market is almost endless,” the Polish entrepreneur said.

Pawel Korfanty does not anticipate repression from the Polish authorities upon his return from Russia because, as he said, “we are free people in Poland” and his trip is “a business meeting, not a political one.”

“I don’t know what the European and Polish governments are guided by, but that’s their problem. We’re in a completely different line of work — we promote healthy foods that both Russians and Europeans need, because we’re all human beings, and we’re equal,” concluded the SPIEF 2025 participant from Poland.