Russian President Dmitry Medvedev will meet with his French counterpart Nicolas Sarkozy on Friday at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, a presidential aide said on Tuesday.
Arkady Dvorkovich said the Russian and French leaders would participate in the plenary session of the forum and later attend a roundtable to discuss joint innovation and investment projects.
"We expect that the French president will announce who will coordinate the participation of French companies in the Skolkovo project," Dvorkovich said, adding that after that the presidents will hold a bilateral meeting.
The Skolkovo research hub, dubbed Russia's Silicon Valley, is being built from scratch 20 km outside of Moscow. Research at the center will focus on five priority spheres: energy, information technologies, communication, biomedical research and nuclear technologies.
Russia and France could also sign contracts in the sphere of machinery, energy, including exploration of gas fields, energy efficiency, telecommunications and pharmacy production, the presidential aide said.
"The Russian and French companies are communicating actively and preparing contracts," Dvorkovich said, adding that contracts in some areas have been already drafted.
Among the Russian companies are energy giant Gazprom, Russian State Atomic Energy Corporation Rosatom and Russian rail-equipment maker Transmashholding.
The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, which runs Thursday through Saturday, is held under the slogan "Laying the foundation for the future." The discussion will focus on the problems faced by emerging economies.
RIA Novosti is the forum's main information partner.
MOSCOW, June 15 (RIA Novosti)
