In his opening address, Viktor Zubkov who chairs the forum's Russian coordinating committee said:

"First of all, I would like to congratulate the delegates, guests and organisers of the St Petersburg Dialogue Forum on its tenth anniversary.

"We are celebrating many anniversaries in 2010. World War II ended 65 years ago. The Soviet Union and West Germany re-established diplomatic relations 55 years ago. And 40 years ago, the two countries signed the Treaty of Moscow which created a reliable foundation for bilateral relations. Germany celebrates the 20th anniversary of national reunification this year, while Russia marks the 25th anniversary of the beginning of perestroika policies.

"These are all landmark stages in the history of Russian-German partnership, which transcends the normal boundaries of bilateral relations. The establishment of the St Petersburg Dialogue in 2001 became another highly important milestone, ushering in a new stage of cooperation between our two countries and civil societies.

"Although ten years may seem like a short historical period, it is quite a lot in our rapidly accelerating modern world. Therefore, we have every right to review the first results of our ten-year work.

"Most importantly, the St Petersburg Dialogue has proved its viability and has become an important element in Russian-German relations. We have made considerable headway, primarily in terms of mutual trust. It would be impossible to build stable, long-term relations and a true partnership without this foundation.

"Several joint projects in different areas have been realized on the basis of the St Petersburg Dialogue. This gives us a sense of optimism about the future and allows us to discuss the prospects for our development.

"To be honest, the tenth forum prioritises the prospects for relations between our countries and societies in the next decade. The choice of this subject is not only motivated by the forum's anniversary. The people on whom long-term Russian-German relations depend have gathered here. This is an important advantage of the St Petersburg Dialogue - we can not only discuss and explore these prospects, but also actively influence our present and future. The results of our discussions will largely influence the expanded Russian-German partnership.

"The modern world is like a ship sailing through the waves of history, and we are not mere passengers, we are the crew, on whom the ship's course and progress depend.

"Globalisation erases borders, bringing countries and people closer together and turning the world into a single entity with interdependent components. Unfortunately, we cannot call this world tranquil and devoid of crises and conflicts. In this situation, examples of true partnership and genuine friendship between states and people are becoming particularly significant and valuable. Such friendships aim to make the world better and more stable. The St Petersburg Dialogue is one such example.

I am especially happy to say that others are following the model of our forum. We are thus playing an important role not only in the context of bilateral relations but also on a global scale.

"I am confident that bilateral relations will continue to expand because our people have many common interests. I am also convinced that we will manage to implement a partnership programme aiming at modernisation. The outlines of this programme were charted at previous forums. This programme will have tremendous significance both for Russia and Germany."