Ilsur Metshin met with the delegation of Senegal

(KZN.RU, June 7, Zilya Gayfi). Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, met with Aliul Sall, the Mayor of the Senegalese city of Gediaway, today in the City Hall. The meeting was initiated by the Senegalese side and the heads of the two cities discussed the prospects for cooperation within the framework of the Organization of Cities and Local Government (UCLG) and in other areas.

Sergey Kogogin, the general director of the PAO “KAMAZ”, Abdulay Sow, the president of the Company “Warig”, Rafael Gimalov, the president of the Company “Swiss Investment”, Evgenia Lodvigova, the deputy head of the Kazan Municipality, and Damir Fattakhov, the first deputy head of the Executive Committee, attended the meeting..

Ilsur Metshin welcomed the guests and noted that the interaction of cities is possible in several directions at once, and first of all, within the framework UCLG. Aliul Sall has extensive experience in this area as the head the Association of Senegal Mayors and has a great political weight in the international stage. According to Mayor of Gediaway, the work of the Association of Senegal Mayors is aimed at ensuring that small cities of the country develop together with large ones: there are 556 municipalities in total.

As for the capital of Tatarstan, Aliul Sall also sees prospects for cooperation with Kazan within the framework of the UCLG. In particular, the Mayor of Gediaway is ready to support the initiatives of Ilsur Metshin as the president of the Eurasian branch of the organization in every possible way. “I am grateful to you for taking the time to meet with us because I know how busy you are. I wanted to congratulate you on success in the International Organization of Mayors (Organization of Cities and Local Government – ed.). Thanks to your active work, the whole world knows about you and your city”, said the Mayor of Gediaway. He also noted that he had long wanted to meet with the head of the Tatarstan’s capital to discuss ways of cooperation.

Kazan and Senegal plan to cooperate in other areas as well. For example, an agreement has already been reached on the assistance of Senegal in the delivery of African animals for the new Kazan Zoo.

Also, during the meeting, the parties discussed the opportunities for cooperation in the automotive industry. Ilsur Metshin noted that he thinks a lot about the fact that the Republic of Senegal began to interact with the largest enterprises of Tatarstan. “The “KAMAZ” is one of the main companies not only of the republic but of the whole country. This is our pride, out visiting card. The enterprise is located in Naberezhnye Chelny, the second most important city of the republic. This is a city-forming enterprise that does a lot for the city and its residents. It is a socially responsible enterprise. For us as mayors, it is important when business enterprises are our partners. You have chosen the right partners for competent relations are built with our republic”, said the Mayor of Kazan.

According to Sergey Kogogin, the republic has already established bonds with Senegal. In general, Senegal and its capital are attractive regions for economic cooperation. “I visited Dakar recently and I can say that the city has changed very much in 10 years. This is an incredibly beautiful place in African way. Dakar differs from other cities in West Africa by political and economic stability”, said the director of the “KAMAZ”.

Earlier, Rustam Minnikhanov, the President of Tatarstan, met with the delegation of the Republic of Senegal. The head of the republic called the relations between Senegal, the PAO “KAMAZ”, and the Russian export center the promising ones. Rustam Minnikhanov conveyed an invitation to visit Tatarstan within the framework of the official visit to Russia to Maki Sall, the President of Senegal, who is the brother of Aliul Sall. Aliul Sall said that he was visiting Russia for the first time and his acquaintance with the country began with Tatarstan and Kazan. He thanked for hospitality and said that Tatarstan is known in his country as a dynamically developing region of Russia.