OREANDA-NEWS. December 06, 2010. An annual meeting of the Russia-Italian Forum-Dialogue within the Framework of Civil Societies “Russia-Italy: Partnership for Modernization” timed to coincide with the 7th round of bilateral interstate top-level Russian-Italian consultations was held in the city of Sochi.

The meeting was conducted by the Forum-Dialogue’s Co-Chairs – Vnesheconombank Chairman Vladimir Dmitriev from the Russian side and Todini Finanziaria President Louisa Todini from the Italian side.

The Forum-Dialogue’s participants summed up their performance for 2010 and discussed new promising lines of cooperation in various sectors and among other things within the framework of a Year of Russian Culture and the Russian Language in Italy and a Year of Italian Culture and the Italian Language in Russia scheduled to be held in 2011.

In the course of the meeting round-table discussions were held on the following subjects:
Business-Dialogue (issues of modernization in key economic sectors, use of public-private partnership mechanisms, development of small and medium-sized enterprises);
Issues of religion and education. Teaching religion in a secondary school as a factor of the modern society’s innovative development: Russia’s and Italy’s experience;
In the run up to a Year of Russian Culture and the Russian Language in Italy and a Year of Italian Culture and the Italian Language in Russia;
Establishment of civil society in Italy and Russia. Civil society’s role in modernization processes.

The speakers at the closing plenary session were: Co-Chairs of the Russian-Italian Council on Economic, Industrial and Monetary and Financial Cooperation – Deputy Prime Minister, Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin and Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini, Russian President’s Special Representative for International Cultural Cooperation Mikhail Shvydkoi.

In attendance of the meeting were Forum-Dialogue’s members, participants in Russian-Italian interstate top-level consultations, executives of Russia’s and Italy’s companies and financial institutions, scientists, cultural and education workers.

The Russian-Italian Forum-Dialogue within the framework of civil societies was established in 2004 on Vladimir Putin’s and Silvio Berlusconi’s initiative. The Forum aims to form new promising lines of cooperation, develop an infrastructure of bilateral relations at a nongovernmental level in economy, science and education, cultural and humanitarian ties within the framework of nongovernmental and voluntary organizations.

The following events were held in 2010 as part of the Russian-Italian Forum-Dialogue’s activity: the round-table discussion “Providing Support for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises: Experience of Russia and Italy (the city of Kaluga, June), the round-table discussion “Russian-Italian Cooperation in Modernizing and Laying Foundations for High-Technology Economy in the Russian Federation (the city of Sochi, October), the business-forum ‘Russia and Italy Stepping up Interregional Cooperation” (the city of Yekaterinburg, October), symposium “Ethic Aspects of Banking and Banks’ Social Role: Experience of Russia and Italy” (the city of Moscow, October), the Russian Italian Media Forum (the city of Moscow, November-December). The Forum Dialogue provides a significant support for cultural events: the Festival “Summer Garden of Arts” (the city of Bari, May), a Russian Evening in Milan.