July 15, 2013. July 11 was the first day of the Ural International Industry & Innovations Exhibition/Forum Innorpom 2013. Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev attended the business part of this large-scale international event. Following a plenary session on Global Strategies, he welcomed the participants of Ural-Africa, an international economic forum that is taking place in Yekaterinburg simultaneously with Innoprom, Yekaterinburg Administration’s press service reports.

‘The Urals are a unique part of our country where the two parts of the world, Europe and Asia, come together in a huge continent. Very different nations have always lived here, their cultural and spiritual traditions were shaped in this area, which in many ways defined their mentality and the history of this country,’ Medvedev said.

‘We must admit that globalization, which we talk so much about, offers one very diverse opportunities and prospects, it allows us to build all kinds of relationships and establish mutually beneficial connections between quite remote parts and continents of our planet. I am positive that the participants of this Ural-Africa forum can appreciate that. The relations between Russia and the African countries have stood the test of time. We are currently cooperating within the UN framework and at large international forums,’ Medvedev pointed out.