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At the 82nd congress of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI) in Milan, the Vice President of ExpoForum International and President of the Russian Union of Exhibitions and Fairs (RUEF) – Sergey Alexeev, was inaugurated as the new UFI president.

For the first-time ever in its 90-year history, the UFI chose a representative of Russia as its president. Reacting to his election, Sergey Alexeev noted that the decision reflects the positive outlook for the ongoing development and increasing professionalism of the Russian exhibition industry, which plays an important role in the continuing economic growth of Russia and the entire world. “As the first Russian president of UFI, I will work hard to build close ties between members of the Russian and global exhibition industries. There have been many dramatic changes in the Russian exhibition business over the past 20 years, and as an active UFI member, I would like to help all industry participants better understand what our modern MICE-market is all about,” emphasised Alexeev in his remarks. The speaker also noted that in his new post, he plans not only to strengthen the firmly-established exhibition market of Europe, but also to help foster the industry’s development in the countries of ASEAN, Africa and Latin America. In his speech, Sergey Alexeev also expressed support for the initiative to introduce World Exhibition Day, promising to pursue active work in this area in conjunction with the American association partnering with UFI on the project.

This year, the 82nd congress of the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry (UFI 2015) gathered together more than 500 industry professionals from 53 countries. The event included a gala celebration of the Association’s 90th jubilee.