POWER OF PRAGMATIC DIALOGUE

The Business 20 (B20) is a G20 official engagement group which serves to consolidate the interests of the global business community within its framework. As the most influential informal coalition of business associations and multinationals, B20 fosters direct dialogue between the real economy and heads of state and government.

Its architecture is based on rotation: each year, the presidency passes to the host country of the G20 summit, while the Troika mechanism—comprising the outgoing, acting, and incoming chairs—ensures the continuity of ideas and initiatives. In 2025, the presidency was held by South Africa; in 2026, the baton passed to the United States; and in 2027, the United Kingdom will join the Troika. For the Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP), this rotational structure entails a need for sustained advocacy: it is essential that the initiatives of Russian business are not “washed away” amid shifting political priorities of the incoming presidency. The B20’s influence on the global agenda operates through a systematic, multi-stage process. Each presidency establishes task forces, uniting leading international experts to draft policy papers on key areas such as trade and investment, digital transformation, energy transition, finance, infrastructure, and labour markets, among others. The final B20 communiqué, summarising the policy papers, is officially presented and handed to the G20 Sherpa at the B20 Summit. The most impactful business initiatives are later incorporated into the G20 Leaders’ final declarations, shaping the trajectory of the global economy for years to come.

The Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs has been an unequivocal leader and active participant to B20 ever since its inception in 2010.

At its core, RSPP’s activities are underpinned by a finely tuned advocacy cycle, transforming the needs of domestic companies into actionable global recommendations. This mechanism comprises three interconnected tiers.

The expert tier involves the systematic engagement of Russian business with the B20 task forces, where global trends are applied to meet the specific needs of the national economy. Russian companies and organisations—the vast majority of which are RSPP members—participate annually in all B20 task forces. In 2025, under RSPP’s auspices, a record 76 Russian business representatives joined all eight task forces—a historic high for the B20 engagement.

The institutional tier ensures seamless coordination between the business community engaged in B20 and Russian authorities, including the Russian Government, Russia’s G20 Sherpa, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economic Development, and the Presidential Expert Directorate. This synchronisation enables the integration of national priorities into the final B20 and G20 declarations, crafting a global agenda that reflects Russia’s interests and those of its EAEU partners.

The regional tier is implemented through aligning the B20 agenda with the priorities of the EAEU. This is a critical focus, as the interests of EAEU states, lacking representation in the G20, require robust advocacy through the B20 mechanisms.

Today, thanks to its systematic approach, the RSPP does more than just represent the interests of Russian business—it ensures its real influence over the international trade and investment rules.

On December 1, 2025, the G20 presidency passed to the United States, which has pledged to return to the forum’s initial mission—addressing the challenges of the global financial system and fostering sustainable global growth. The US administration has built its ambitious 2026 agenda around three pillars: driving economic prosperity through a radical reduction in the regulatory burden on business, securing reliable and affordable energy sources under its “energy abundance” concept, and accelerating innovative technologies across all areas of economic life.

For Russian business, Washington’s pragmatic approach—geared towards concrete economic outcomes rather than expanding a politicised agenda—opens up certain windows of opportunity for constructive and professional dialogue.

The priorities outlined in the resolution of the Financial Forum of the Russian Business Week 2026—such as the balanced and predictable exchange rate, independent payment platforms and settlement systems within BRICS+, the EAEU, and the SCO, as well as the subtle balance between curbing inflation and stimulating growth—directly align with the goals set out by the US presidency. This creates a solid foundation for advancing Russian initiatives and discussing them within the B20’s working bodies.

The Regional Advisory Forum— RSPP’s flagship event held annually since 2013 on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF), Russia’s premier business event—occupies a unique place in the architecture of Russia’s B20 engagement.

Over the past decade, the Forum has evolved into the main focal point for the Eurasian agenda, a unique platform where global trends shaped within the B20 are grounded in the specific interests and needs of EAEU countries and the Greater Eurasia. It is here, in an open and equitable dialogue, that business, authorities, and experts from across the region refine shared approaches to Eurasian economic integration, align positions on pressing issues, and forge long-term ties.

A key trend of 2025–2026 has been the pressing need to synchronise the positions of Russian business across various multilateral platforms. The G20 agenda and the coordination of business council activities resonated across virtually every forum of the Russian Business Week 2026, as reflected in the final resolutions.

The resolution of the Integration Forum, for instance, explicitly underscores the critical importance of effectively defending national interests within the G20, BRICS, EAEU, SCO, and APEC. Participants noted that the agendas of these associations inevitably intersect, demanding a uniform and coherent approach from both business and government. Particular emphasis was placed on the systematic coordination among Russian business councils to develop uniform approaches to cross-cutting issues on the international economic agenda—from digitalising transport and logistics to developing financial mechanisms to support cooperation projects.

Participants at the International Forum, in turn, welcomed the efforts of the RSPP and other leading organisations in advocating Russia’s interests across key sectors, reaffirming the business’s consistent demand for predictable, transparent conditions in foreign economic activity and the diversification of trade ties. Even in the event of a hypothetical easing of sanctions, the majority of Russian companies—55% of survey respondents—will prioritise cooperation in third-country markets, underscoring the irreversibility of the drive towards diversifying trade.

Of particular significance in the light of the US presidency are the proposals outlined in the Financial Forum’s resolution, such as developing multilateral and bilateral payment platforms within BRICS+, the EAEU, and the SCO, actively integrating the digital rouble into cross-border settlements, and establishing legal and technological frameworks for the use of digital assets with friendly states. All of these shape the agenda for financial sovereignty, which must be reflected in the work of the B20’s Finance and Infrastructure Task Forces.

Participants at the Integration Forum highlighted the strategic value of BRICS—a forum that brings together predominantly friendly and neutral states. By common consensus, the business communities of BRICS countries, acting from a consolidated position, are uniquely positioned to become the nucleation point for a new global economic agenda, balancing the influence of the West and fostering conditions for constructive dialogue among other neutral and non-Western states. It is through BRICS that Russian initiatives can most effectively be channelled into the G20 and B20 working bodies, harnessing support from a broad range of emerging economies.

Russia’s integrated, multi-tiered approach allows it to serve as a united expert front within the G20, actively shaping a fair global architecture for the 21st century. The RSPP, as an institutional bridge between business and government, coordinates the engagement of Russian business, ensuring the continuity and consistency. The RSPP systematically threads the final recommendations with Russian initiatives, grounded in pragmatism, mutually beneficial cooperation, and due regard for the interests of all participants in the Eurasian economic space. These efforts, launched over a decade ago and recognised at the highest level by heads of state, continue to this day, adapting to new global challenges and unlocking fresh opportunities for Russian business on key international platforms.