From 9 to 11 June 2025, St. Petersburg hosted the ITU Regional Forum titled “Technologies of the Future: Artificial Intelligence, Metaverse, Holography, and Other ICT Applications and Services — Vision 2030”. The event was organised by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications (RCC) with the support of the Russian Ministry of Digital Development.

The forum forms part of the implementation of ITU Regional Initiatives and the joint project of the ITU Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT) and PJSC Rostelecom: “International R&D and Testing Centre for New Equipment, Technologies and Services.” It brings together experts from the public and private sectors, academia, and leading universities to explore the transformational potential of emerging ICTs — including AI, telepresence, and metaverse technologies.
On 10 June, the MGIMO AI Centre co-organised Session 2.3 titled “Metaverse and AI Applications in ICT: Global AI Governance — Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Development”. The session focused on international approaches to AI regulation and the feasibility of their adaptation within regional contexts.

Session moderator:
Anna Abramova, Head of the MGIMO AI Centre, and member of the expert group on AI readiness under the ITU “AI for Good” initiative.

Speakers included:

• Veronika Strogleva, Head of AI Technology Development Division, Russian Ministry of Digital Development;
• Alexey Savrasov, Industrial Development Officer, UNIDO;
• Tony Bonnici, Head of Cooperation and Partnerships, UNECE;
• Ilya Kabanov, Head of E-commerce Regulation and Product Labelling Division, UNECE.

Forum agenda and further details are available on the official ITU website.
Watch the live stream online.