Putin arrives in Yekaterinburg to attend United Russia regional conference.

YEKATERINBURG, June 30 (Itar-Tass) -- Russian Prime Minister Vladimir
Putin has arrived in the city of Yekaterinburg in Russia's Urals federal
district, where later on Thursday he will attend a plenary session of the
United Russia party interregional conference.
The conference of United Russian branches operating in the Urals
federal district will focus on a strategy for the socio-economic
development of the Ural area within a period ending in 2020, and a program
for 2011-2012.
"The conference in Yekaterinburg is a seventh one of this kind. It
will be dedicated to top-priority directions of the development of the
Urals federal district. Such forums have already been held in Siberia,
North Caucasus, in the Volga region, in the Far East, and in the Central
federal district," the russian government's press service said.
The current conference will be held in two stages. On Wednesday, the
first day of the conference, participants worked in the following five
panels: "Innovative Production Plants", "Agri-Industrial Sector",
"Infrastructure and Construction", "Social Welfare Sector", and "Culture,
Sports, and Tourism". Participants chose the most promising projects,
some of them will be discussed at today's plenary session.
"It is expected that apart from discussing projects, participants in
the conference will exchange their views on all aspects of the
socio-economic situation in the Urals region. It will yield basic
approaches to the problems facing the Urals district's regions, and will
outline priorities for the implementation of the development program for
the coming years," the press service said.