At the opening ceremony, Mr Sobyanin read out Prime Minister Putin's message to the exhibition participants. "Russia highly appreciates the mutually beneficial political and economic cooperation with Bulgaria, and values the strong cultural and creative ties uniting the artists and scientists of our countries," the message said, in part.

"The exhibition demonstrates not only the recent advances made by Russia, but also the prospects for trade, economic, scientific, and technological cooperation between our countries. It is an opportunity to see the great potential of Russian companies and to learn more about Russia's regions, in addition to Moscow and St Petersburg," the message read.

Prime Minister of Bulgaria Sergei Stanishev also took part in the official ceremony of opening the exhibition.