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French, Syrian delegations named honored guests of 2019 Yalta forum

MOSCOW, November 9. /TASS/. Organizers of the fifth Yalta International Economic Forum, which will be held in Crimea on April 17-21, 2019, are planning to name delegations from France and Syria honored guests of the forum, co-chairman of the Yalta International Economic Forum organizing committee and member of Crimea’s delegation to Syria Andrei Nazarov stated on Friday.

"We have our traditions. For example, the tradition of naming some delegations honored guests, which gives us additional possibilities to focus our attention on these countries' agendas and programs. Secondly, it gives them the opportunity for expanded participation - for such delegations, our quota is 50 participants. <…> For the year 2019, we plan to give this status to two foreign delegations - one from France, <…> as well as the Syrian Arab Republic," he said.

According to Nazarov, two delegations from Russian regions will also take part in the forum in an expanded format: delegations from St. Petersburg and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

The forum’s organizer also noted that in 2019, the forum would have an expanded international agenda. In particular, there will be a section dedicated to Russian-African relations. Special attention will also be paid to the relations between Russia and Ukraine, as the Ukrainian delegation received an invitation to the forum, Nazarov added.

The previous Yalta International Economic Forum took place on April 19-21, 2018.

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