Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sergei Movchan, Vice Governor of St. Petersburg, noted that in 10 years of Partneriat's operation, 10,000 enterprises from across Russia and 30 other states had presented their products; more than 15,000 business meetings had been held at the Business Contacts Exchange. "In the next three days we will be discussing issues from our industrial agenda, including the support of import substitution and exports, introduction of innovations, high-tech sector development trends, training of workforce for further industrial growth. Together we will devise a roadmap to create a more relaxed business environment," stressed Mr. Movchan.

The Partneriat comprises a Congress programme and an Exhibition with the participation of 16 constituent entities of the Russian Federation, partners of St. Petersburg, including the Arkhangelsk, Kursk, Ryazan and Pskov Regions, the Republics of Karelia, Tatarstan, Udmurtia as well as Taiwan and Finnish Lappeenranta. Regional booths will demonstrate not only the wealth of accumulated experience and potential of specific regions, but also serve as negotiation venues. Such meetings foster interregional cooperation in the prioritized sectors of economy, promote industrial and R&D cooperation, enhance collaboration in the fields of innovation and energy efficiency and facilitate an increased volume of trade.

The Lipetsk Region, for example, came to the Exhibition with the "Development of Small and Medium Enterprises" programme. The Primorsky Krai presented its Export Development Centre. Representatives of St. Petersburg Regional Integrated Centre demonstrated a comprehensive programme of support for domestic producers "An Export Lift" that included trainings, identification of prospective partners, counseling and a range of other activities.

As Sampo Vehviläinen, Director of the Invest In Department, the Houses of Finland in St. Petersburg, noted, the Lappeenranta region had been participating in the Partneriat for several years. To show its support for the 2017 Year of Ecology announced in Russia, the company would be presenting a number of "green" technologies. Visitors of Lappeenranta's booth will learn about Finnish energy-saving, waste-processing, environmentally friendly wood processing and renewable energy technologies and enterprises.

The Taiwan Trade Centre in St. Petersburg is a regular participant of Partneriats. "Our booth "broadcasts" interests of Russian and Taiwanese companies working mostly in ICT, machine building, metalworking and development of environmentally friendly technologies sectors," said Centre's representative. "We also organize high-profile international exhibitions in Taiwan supported by government grants and invite Russian companies to visit these events."

For visitors' information: the Partneriat for Small and Medium Business is held on the same dates (March 14-16, 2017) as the St. Petersburg Technical Fair in Pavilion H of the ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre.