The GSMA, which hosts the world’s largest trade fair, the Mobile World Congress, has said it will prevent Russian companies from participating in the event.
The GSMA has partially limited the participation of Russian companies during the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war. The Mobile World Congress is scheduled to be held in Barcelona from February 28 to March 3, 2022.
This year, the MWC is expected to host more than 1,500 advertisers, including AWS, Lenovo, Samsung, Realme, Intel, and others.
MWC has been plagued by cancellation of exhibitors due to the ongoing Covid epidemic, but in this case, the event will be available to more technology companies compared to 2020 and 2021.
A Reuters report had previously stated that the GSMA would bar all Russian companies, including carriers, from attending the MWC.
However, a GSMA spokesman declined to confirm the same. The spokesman said the company would work with international sanctions against Russia.
“The GSMA strongly condemns the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The situation is urgent, and we understand that various governments are considering a wide range of sanctions against Russia.
Given this emerging situation and considering the tragic loss of life, the MWC seems unreasonable under these circumstances.
MWC is a collaborative event with the vision of integrating a mobile ecosystem to develop ways and means that communication can ensure that individuals, industries, and communities thrive.
The GSMA follows all government sanctions and policies resulting from this situation. There will be no Russian Pavilion at MWC22.
Security at the event is regularly updated and updated as information becomes available, ”the GSMA statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to launch a “special military campaign” in Ukraine. At the time of writing, Russian troops were stationed outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.
Coming back to MWC, the event was completely canceled in 2020 due to the massive Covid-19 epidemic, while the 2021 technology show program was delayed, yet the decline was much lower as some of the major tech companies left the human event and turned to the virtual event only .
There have been no major viewers coming out of the show since now, Covid-19 cases worldwide have dropped dramatically.
This is one of the main reasons why this year’s MWC could get such a large number of attendees. In terms of numbers, the GSMA says it expects more than 1,800 observers and traveling representatives from 183 countries.
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