Local businesses have an opportunity to investigate the possibilities of expanding into eastern Europe and Russia during the 14th annual CIS and Central-Eastern Europe Business Forum. The forum will be held Nov. 2-3 at the Sheraton Tucson Hotel and Suites in Tucson. A pre-conference reception is Thursday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Presenters from business, government and academia will offer up-to-date analysis of political, economic and legal aspects of running business ventures, with a focus on Russia, Hungary, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, Ukraine and Serbia, according to Roza Simkhovich, the founder of the series and a senior lecturer in the Russian and Slavic languages department at The University of Arizona.

Sessions will cover business initiatives and opportunities, marketing, tech transfer, investment, finance and the food and health industries. A list of presenters, registration forms (due Oct. 15) and more information can be found online at http://russian.arizona.edu/annualbizconf.htm. (uanews.org)