Medvedev to attend ceremonies in Rome, meet Napolitano

MOSCOW, June 1 (Itar-Tass) - Russian President Dmitry Medvedev travels
to Italy on Wednesday upon completing working meetings in Moscow.
At the invitation of President Giorgio Napolitano, President of the
Italian Republic, the Russian leader will be present at ceremonies
marking the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of a
united Italian state.
A Kremlin press service official has told Itar-Tass that Medvedev's
programme provides for only a conversation with Napolitano on Wednesday
evening.
Official ceremonies within the scope of celebrations are to be held on
June 2 when the Republic Day -- the national holiday of Italy -- is
marked. On that day the President of Russia will be present at a military
parade which is to take place in downtown Rome.
Scheduled for Thursday are Medvedev's meeting with Silvio Berlusconi,
Chairman of Italy's Council of Ministers, as well as their working
luncheon in which US Vice-President Joseph Biden will participate. Mr.
Biden is representing the United States at the celebration ceremonies.
Xi Jinping, Vice-President of the People's Republic of China, will be
yet another interlocutor of Medvedev on Thursday.
The press service official pointed out, "At Medvedev's scheduled talks
with Napolitano and Berlusconi the sides are to have a substantive
exchange of views on the themes of current importance that are on the
bilateral and international agendas". The Kremlin expects that "Main
attention will be devoted to matters concerning cooperation in the
trade-and-economic sphere".
"Within the framework of the the current policy course towards
diversifying economic contacts, special attention is being given to
cooperation in the oil and gas sector, to efforts to deepen industrial
co-production arrangements, and broaden the scope of trade turnover and
intensify contacts in research-intensive, high-technology sector," the
press service official emphasized. He said active joint work is under way
to build the South Stream gas pipeline; interaction between Russian
companies and the enterprises of the Italian Finmeccanica Company is
making headway under a project for the Superjet-100 medium-haul airliner,
and in efforts to modernize Russian railways; cooperation is maintained
with ENEL on projects in the electric power industry, and in the
construction of sports facilities in preparation for the 2014 Winter
Olympics in Sochi, as wells in the fields of helicoptermaking, automotive
industry, information technologies, etc.
The Kremlin also mentions the strengthening of cultural and
humanitarian contacts as one of priority subjects to be discussed at the
forthcoming talks. This is of current importance also because the
implementation of the two countries' reciprocal Year of Culture and
Language enters an active phase. Many events of the Year have been already
a big success. The forthcoming big events include a Constellation of
Russia Festival. Performing groups from Russian regions will take part in
this large-scale concert which is to take place in Piazza Navona, one of
the main squares of Rome, on June 12 within the framework of festivities
marking the Day of Russia.
During talks with the Italian leadership, Medvedev will also touch
upon matters relating to cooperation in international affairs. "Russia is
ready to carry it (cooperation) on on the basis of identical or similar
approaches to most of world problems," Kremlin analysts point out.
"The sides are to discuss the results of the meeting of the Heads of
State and Government of G-8 countries in Deauville, as well as prospects
for cooperation between Russia and the European Union, with due regard for
the preparation of a Russia-EU summit which is due to be held in Nizhny
Novgorod from June 9 to 10," the press service official said.