The city of Yekaterinburg lies at the crossroads between Europe and Asia, east of the Central Russia. Yekaterinburg is Russia’s third largest city with a population of 1,5 million. Today Yekaterinburg is primarily known both as a center of heavy industry and steel-making, and as a major freight transportation hub. Yekaterinburg has long been an important trading center for goods coming from Siberia, Europe, Central and South Asia. The city also has a reputation as a center of higher education, research and performing arts. An exhibition sector of the city has developed rapidly during past ten years, and is largely involved in the development of city market infrastructure. The geographic position and powerful economic potential make the city and the Ural region very attractive to foreign investments. The top five foreign investors are U.S., UK, Germany, China and Cyprus.