The Mid-Atlantic-Russia Business Council Host
6th and 7th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Weeks

Philadelphia, PA - The Mid-Atlantic – Russia Business Council will host the 6th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT) in the Mid-Atlantic States beginning May 1, 2007, and the 7th RANIT beginning mid-November, 2007. The Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week (RANIT) is designed to bring together entrepreneurs, scientists, venture capitalists, and established corporations from the American and Russian technology communities. Based on past success, RANIT is now held twice a year, and includes an even greater number of regional technology events, seminars, panel discussions, roundtable meetings, trade shows, conferences, and networking events. Russian delegations representing the foremost Russian technology companies will take part in the various regional technology events of RANIT. The 6th RANIT will conclude with an event held in celebration of the 300-year anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, who was the first American member of the Russian Academy of Sciences. In November, the 7th RANIT will commemorate the 200th anniversary of the beginning of Russian-American diplomatic relations.

RANIT is supported by leading regional businesses and governmental organizations, including the administrations of the City of Philadelphia, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the States of New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland, as well as Mid-Atlantic regional organizations focusing on international business and technology development. The Mayor of Philadelphia, John F. Street, has officially proclaimed the Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week in Philadelphia.

The 6th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week, organized by the Mid-Atlantic – Russia Business Council, and supported by AstraZeneca and Baker & McKenzie, will formally open with a welcoming ceremony and conference in the Mayor’s Reception Room at Philadelphia City Hall on May 2, 2007. The 6th RANIT will highlight the biotechnology sector, and keynote speakers will include presidents of both American and Russian biotechnology associations. Special events planned for the Russian delegation at the 6th RANIT include a meeting with Pennsylvania state officials, a seminar with members of venture capital funds specializing in biotechnology, the Global Innovation & Entrepreneurship Expo at Temple University, a visit to the International Incubator at the University City Science Center, a roundtable discussion with members of biotechnology associations in the Mid-Atlantic region, and participation in the Innoventure2007 Science and Business Expo.

The 6th RANIT will conclude with BIO 2007 from May 6-9, 2007 at the Convention Center in Boston, with an extensive Russian program organized by the Mid-Atlantic – Russia Business Council. The MARBC is the official organizer of the Russian delegation at BIO, which is the largest and most significant biotechnology event in the world. A Russian mini-pavilion will display information on the vast array of Russian science and technology capabilities in biotechnology and related industries, and the Russian country seminar on May 6th will highlight the most promising achievements of Russian scientists and manufacturers in the biotechnology field, as well as pressing issues concerning Russian-American biotechnology cooperation.

The 7th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week will open in mid-November 2007. The 7th Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Week will focus on information technology, alternative energy technology, nanotechnology, robotics, chemical engineering, safety and security technologies, technology in education, venture capital, and entrepreneurship. Following the opening ceremonies, the Biennial Russian-American Business Opportunities Symposium will be held. Taking place within the framework of the 7th RANIT, the Symposium will include discussions on the challenges of doing business in Russia and opportunities in specific industrial sectors. Presentations by delegations from Russian regions and by Russian and American World Trade Centers will also play an important role in providing current information about the Russian business environment.

There will also be a RANIT-associated program on technology in education organized by the MARBC. The program will present multiple opportunities for furthering communication and cooperation between Russian and American universities, including a roundtable discussion with the directors of technology transfer programs from Philadelphia-area universities. One of the leading events will be the 3rd Annual Russian-American Technology Entrepreneurship Conference.

Another main event of the 7th RANIT will be an extensive MARBC-organized Russian program at Philadelphia ITEC. The Philadelphia ITEC is part of the nation’s largest series of regional business technology events for IT and business professionals, featuring a combination of national vendors and local suppliers, and a conference program with seminars on the newest issues in information technology. The Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council will organize the participation of Russian companies in the exhibition and will also present panel discussions highlighting Russian information technology capabilities and other topics related to Russian technology and business.

Additional events during the 7th Russian - American Innovation Technology Week will include visit and roundtable at the International Incubator at the Science Center. The week will continue with visits to other states in the Mid-Atlantic region, and will end with a final reception at the Pyramid Club in Philadelphia.

 "The focus of the Russian-American Innovation Technology Week is to help introduce Russian companies to the Mid-Atlantic region's local technology business and venture capital communities," said Val Kogan, President of the Mid-Atlantic Russia Business Council. "The Semi-Annual Russian-American Technology Week will help match advanced Russian technology and engineering talent with American entrepreneurial and managerial skills. Many companies in the Mid-Atlantic region are finding Russian counterparts and are developing successful business ventures. We hope it will ultimately establish the Mid-Atlantic region as a major partner for Russian technology companies and a premier center of Russian-American technology cooperation."

For further details about the Semi-Annual Russian-American Innovation Technology Weeks in 2007, please contact Val Kogan, Mid-Atlantic-Russia Business Council, by phone: (215) 708-2628, email: val@ma-rbc.org, or visit the MARBC website at: http://www.ma-rbc.org

About the Mid-Atlantic - Russia Business Council. Since 1994, MARBC has worked to foster business relations between Russia and the Newly Independent States (NIS), and the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region, while cultivating mutual appreciation of political, economic, cultural, and educational interests. Throughout the past eleven years, the goal of MARBC has been to enable companies based in the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region to enhance their positions in Russia and the NIS, and to attract Russian businesses to the U.S. Mid-Atlantic region.