Ural Airlines informed the Ministry for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region that the company was going to launch a scheduled flight from Yekaterinburg to Rome and back on May 2, 2010. The flight will be operated every Sunday. The Ministry reports Italy has been one of Sverdlovsk Region’s key economic partners for the last few years, so the current business and tourist ties between the two territories are bound to secure good demand for the flight.

‘A lot of work has to be done in preparation for the Saint Petersburg Dialogue forum,’ Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin said at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. This forum used to be held in Germany or Saint Petersburg, but this time it will take place in Yekaterinburg for the first time. Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and President of the Russian Federation Dmitriy Medvedev will meet to discuss issues related to education.

China Development Bank has not yet provided its loans to Sverdlovsk Region’s enterprises, Governor of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Misharin announced at a press conference in Yekaterinburg. ‘To the best of my knowledge, the Chinese bank decided to offer six loans to Russian companies, but not a single one has been actually provided so far. Nevertheless, the decisions involving Sverdlovsk Region-based enterprises still might be positive because the intermediary for this money transfer has already been determined. This is going to be Foreign Trade Bank (VTB). This bank has already got an