YEKATERINBURG, September 13. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin has greeted participants and guests of the International Youth Festival, a TASS reported.

"I am glad to welcome participants and guests of the International Youth Festival. This year, you have gathered in the Urals capital city of Yekaterinburg, a city where Europe meets Asia and where history lives in literally every stone," he said in a video address.

The head of state noted that for centuries, the Ural region has been the birthplace of ideas that have changed Russia for the better. He mentioned the first factories, Russia’s first industrial revolution, and hundreds of modern scientific breakthroughs.

"Where else but here - in one of the main centers of Russia’s industrial, cultural, and intellectual heritage -- could young leaders from different countries discuss how our lives are changing with the advent of new technologies and what the world of the future should look like?" Putin stressed.

He reassured that Russia would welcome anyone willing to join its projects. "We will be no less happy if you build our shared new, open and, I hope, fair world in your countries, in your homeland," he added.

The Russian president emphasized that he is convinced in the success of the younger generation. "I have no doubt that you, the younger generation, will succeed. It is your time. Follow your dreams with Russia!" he stressed.

About the festival

The International Youth Festival is being held in Yekaterinburg from September 11 through 17 under the motto "Follow Your Dream." Some 10,000 young leaders aged from 14 to 17 from Russia and 191 world countries are expected to visit it. TASS is the event’s general information partner.