On July 6, 2010, the East Siberian State University of Technology in Ulan-Ude opened its cultural center to host the grand opening of the International Workshop Conference on the Baikal Region’s Priority to Russia’s Asian Geopolitics. The participants were greeted by welcoming addresses from Republic of Buryatia President V. V. Nagovitsyn and M. M. Gershevich, Chairman of the Buryatia People’s Khural.

The capacity audience heard plenary reports from: M. V. Slipenchuk, Head of METROPOL Group of Companies and Chairman of the Guardianship Board of the Fund for Protection of Lake Baikal; the Director of the Baikal Institute of Nature Management of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences A. K. Tulokhonov, a Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences who also serves on the Fund’s Technical Board; and T. Dumnova, Republic of Buryatia’s Minister of Economic Development. The workshop was organized to help participants exchange ideas about issues of vital importance not only to the Baikal region but also to the entire Far East. The conference concluded its first three-day session by agreeing a list of specific recommendations for establishing favorable conditions that developed the region’s economy and improved the quality of the Baikal and Far East regions’ people’s lives. These measures were announced at a press conference attended by V. V. Nagovitsyn, M. V. Slipenchuk and A. K. Tolukhonov, upon which the conference resumed its plenary work. The subsequent sessions included presentations by Dr. T. Dorje, the Vice President of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences Vice President, and N. Annenskaya, Deputy General Director of IFC METROPOL.
The conference also featured at July 7, 2010 round table entitled: Using the Republic of Buryatia’s Example to Attract Investments through Special Economic Zones. The event was held on the upper deck of the Metropoliya special-purpose ship. The round table was preceded by a special tour of the various objects now under constructions in the Baikal Harbor Special Economic Tourism and Recreation Zone. At Turka Part, the guests boarded the Pereval (Crossing) steamship and left the harbor for the nearby Metropoliya. The round table officially kicked off the moment the entire expedition fleet left for the site of the upcoming Mir submersions.