The Nizhny Novgorod Region exposition was opened in the Russian pavilion at the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai on Sunday, a RIA Novosti correspondent said.

"It is the first exposition of the Nizhny Novgorod Region at the World Expo," Dmitry Svatkovsky, the acting deputy governor of the region, said.

"[The exhibit] will contribute significantly to the region's positive image as a dynamic Russian region and an active participant in international relations."

Svatkovsky also said the region is ready to cooperate with China in investment.

"We are here at the Expo today because we are not satisfied with the present investment level", Svatkovsky said. Among the priority spheres of cooperation between the Nizhny Novgorod Region and China he named nuclear energy and chemical industry, engineering (including car industry), telecommunications, science and high-tech industry.

The visit of the region's delegation to China is one of the key events in international partnership of Nizhny Novgorod in 2010. Svatkovsky said the next stage of the delegation's visit to China will be southwest Sichuan Province, the sister region of the Nizhny Novgorod Region since 2002. During the visit to Sichuan, the interregional cooperation agreement will be extended and a presentation of Nizhny Novgorod investment potential will be held for businessmen in Sichuan.

The 2010 World Expo in Shanghai opened on May 1 and runs until October 31. More than 200 countries, corporations and international organization are taking part. Russia constructed a pavilion at the exhibition for the first time in 30 years.

SHANGHAI, August 22 (RIA Novosti)