A meeting devoted to the setting up of the French consulate in Yekaterinburg was held in the Ministry for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region. The meeting was attended by Minister Viktor Koksharov and First Secretary of the French Embassy in Russia Thierry Vautrin, reports the spokesperson for Governor of Sverdlovsk Region.

According to M. Vautrin, the French party has handled a number of technical issues related to the introduction of the consulate, which will serve three purposes: giving visas, facilitating economic partnership, and building up cultural and educational ties. The French diplomats are now scheming up the preliminary requirements regarding the building of the would-be consulate and are hoping to start operating on September 1, 2007.