The First Voronezh Investment Forum

Voronezh, located at the border of the Russia historic nucleus, in the end of XVII century turned into a stronghold of the Russian empire in its strife to have access to Azov and Black seas. Nowadays Voronezh with its one million inhabitants has turned into an important scientific, industrial, educational and cultural center of Russia. Voronezh for long has been considered the largest town in the vast fertile agricultural area.

Voronezh has not been selected as a venue for the Forum quite by chance. Presently Voronezh area is a potential zone for the Russia-Ukraine border intensive cooperation and a center of quickly growing economic belt Russia-Ukraine-Kazakhstan. Voronezh area is a natural connecting element between its neighboring regions in the Central, South and Volga districts.

Three areas of cooperation are in sight:

• External area - transit importance of Voronezh area in Russia-Ukraine-Kazakhstan cooperation
• Border area - cooperation with Ukraine
• Inter-district cooperation inside Russia - between three neighboring federal districts of Russia.

Voronezh area is a connecting terminal at the southern part of the Russian center with Voronezh being an inter-regional capital - to give a successful performance in this capacity the whole area requires dynamic progress and resourceful investments by large companies into large-scale industrial and infrastructural projects. In particular, Voronezh area has acquired a new important role of being a transit region in view of the Sochi Olympics in 2014.

The First Forum is primarily aimed at holding representative and independent discussions on economic and social development in Voronezh area and neighboring regions, integration processes in the region, commercial interests of Voronezh enterprises and investment capacities of Voronezh area, prospects of international economic cooperation. Resources and investment projects in Voronezh area will be presented at the exhibition of investment potential.