The Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) 2020, originally scheduled for September 2-5, was cancelled and will be held next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Roscongress Foundation said on Friday.

"The sixth Eastern Economic Forum will be held in September 2021," the foundation said.

The Eastern Economic Forum was established by decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia's Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

It has been held annually since 2015 in the Russian port city of Vladivostok.

Earlier this year, the investment forum in Sochi and St. Petersburg International Economic Forum were also canceled because of the global coronavirus pandemic.

(Cover: People walk past a sign of the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia, on Sept. 11, 2018. /Reuters)