The Minister for International and Foreign Economic Relations of Sverdlovsk Region Alexander Kharlov met the head of KFW’s Russian representation Daniil Algulyan and UBS Managing Director for Eastern Europe Martina Bigliardi Moehr. Both of these meetings had to do with the foreign banks’ plans to present their potential to the regional government and consider setting up branches in Yekaterinburg.

Mr. Kharlov made a report on Sverdlovsk Region’s economic achievements in 2007 and spoke on the most promising fields of the parties’ prospective cooperation, whereupon Ms Bigliardi Moehr said she was going to introduce the bank’s representation in Yekaterinburg before the end of the year. The Minister thanked the two banks’ representatives for the information provided and assured them the regional authorities were very interested in creating a nice working environment for the banks’ future offices in the Urals.