MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - The economic forum opening in St. Petersburg on Thursday is a good opportunity to discuss the global economic crisis, including its impact on former Soviet republics, a Kazakh analyst said on Thursday.

"Whereas in Davos organizers try to get different people to discuss the global agenda mainly in terms of the western market, in St. Petersburg I think we could have some kind of regional agenda", and discuss "what we should do beyond crisis in terms of this CIS market," said Kairat Kelimbetov, head of Kazakhstan's National Welfare Fund Samruk Kazyna.

The June 4-6 International Economic Forum will be devoted to urgent global development issues. It will be divided into two parts, covering economic and financial areas, and involve more than 2,000 participants.

Kelimbetov said the forum was a good opportunity for both bilateral and multilateral contacts between CIS countries and representatives of global financial institutions and companies.

"This is a global economic forum because of those participating, representing significant financial institutions and significant world-wide companies. But also there is a regional agenda."

The forum provides "a good step to take some responsibility for the future," he said.