On June 6, the first Global Digital Forum concluded in Nizhny Novgorod — a high-profile international event aimed at strengthening global digital ties between governments, businesses, as well as regional and international organizations. The forum brought together representatives from 114 countries and over 2,800 IT experts, including 760 foreign participants, among them 56 VIP delegates from foreign government agencies and international organizations. Over 150 multilateral agreements and memorandums were signed during the forum.
At GDF 2025, business and government representatives discussed digital transformation of key economic sectors. The Russian delegation included Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Dmitry Grigorenko, Deputy Minister of Digital Development Bella Cherkesova, Head of the Presidential Directorate for ICT and Communications Infrastructure Development Tatyana Matveeva, Governor of Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleb Nikitin, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Vershinin, as well as other top speakers including executives of major Russian cybersecurity companies: "Cyberus", "Solar", "Security Code", "Kaspersky Lab", Positive Technologies, and BI.ZONE.
Among international speakers were UN Deputy Secretary-General and Special Envoy on Technology Amandeep Singh Gill, UAE Digital Transformation Expert and former Director General of Smart Dubai Office Aisha Bin Bishr, as well as other officials and high-level experts from Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America, including over 30 ministers and deputy ministers of digital development.
The main theme of the forum was digital solutions that Russia currently offers to the international community, development of mutual and equal multilateral dialogue, and exchange of expertise in information security and strengthening digital sovereignty of participating countries. The business program included over 60 sessions, educational tracks and interactive events.
On the morning of June 6, a cybersecurity breakfast was held where VIP participants and honored guests discussed Russia's unique experience in protection against cyberattacks and its readiness to share this expertise with other countries, helping them build their own turnkey cybersecurity systems.
Sergey Vershinin emphasized the uniqueness of the Russian approach – the desire to create rules that would protect countries, including small ones, from interference by major international players. "Developing and implementing rules that should be followed by all, understood by all and accepted by all is the direction we must take, which will ultimately lead us to digital sovereignty, meaning that ICT and latest technological achievements won't be used to influence internal politics of sovereign states," commented the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister.
"We managed to share experience with foreign colleagues, which definitely resonated with them. We also established useful contacts among ministers and their assistants that will hopefully grow into practical cooperation. Such events and formats of communication with foreign partners help build trust and demonstrate the real level of competence of Russian companies, which isn't always obvious to our colleagues abroad," noted Yury Maksimov, co-founder of the "Cyberus" international cybersecurity foundation, following the cybersecurity breakfast.
The Global Digital Forum 2025 became an important milestone in the development of Russia's digital agenda launched at the anniversary 10th CIPR-2025 conference. The forum attracted significant international media attention – over 60 foreign media outlets worked at the venue, and GDF events were actively covered in global press. " The Global Digital Forum last week in delightful Nizhny Novgorod represented a landmark in the quest for a more equitable media landscape across the whole Global South" summarized Brazilian journalist and geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar.
Additionally, over 20 bloggers joined the event, including popular influencers and journalists from Mali, Togo, Zambia, Nigeria, Cameroon, Benin and Equatorial Guinea, whose videos about Russia and the forum went viral. Regular forum guests also actively participated in GDF 2025 interactive formats. At the TsNIIMash and Roscosmos booth, they sent over 800 audio messages in different languages to the Russian Deep Space Communication Center, which were then converted into signals and transmitted to selected points in the Universe. Moreover, guests spent a total of over 80 hours in the IT detox room, where they could practice yoga with instructors or meditate, and sent over 1,000 postcards to relatives and colleagues worldwide with support from Russian Post.
