Today, the Mayor of the capital of Tatarstan Ilsur Metshin has signed a
six-party agreement between Kazan, Yekaterinburg, Ufa, Khabarovsk and the
Chinese cities Guangzhou and Qiqihar. The meeting was held in a videoconference
mode between the cities of Russia and China.
Ilsur Metshin noted that Kazan has always had close relations with Chinese
cities. This year the capital of Tatarstan celebrates the 10th anniversary of
the signing of the pact on establishing twinning relationships with the city of
Guangzhou. During this time, many visits have taken place and strong relations
have been built in various spheres.
Kazan is twinned with
58 cities and partners, but there has been no experience of signing such a document
yet, the Mayor said. “No matter what changes take place in the world, no matter
what difficulties arise on our way, the friendship between our countries
transmitted from generation to generation, our conviction in reliable
partnership and good neighborhood remain strong”, - I.Metshin noted.
The memorandum of
understanding between the cities of Russia and China provides for the sharing
of experience in culture, education, sports, tourism, youth policy, healthcare,
trade, industry, science and technology. The cooperation will be aimed at stimulating
innovative activities, improving the international status of municipalities and
the living standards in cities.
“We are glad to
welcome the city of Qiqihar today, whose representatives have already taken
part in activities organized by the Kazan Mayor’s Office, - I.Metshin said. – The
memorandum of understanding would provide a solid basis for further cooperation
between our cities for many years to come,”- he concluded.
The meeting was
attended by Consul General of the People's Republic of China in Kazan Wu
Yingqin, Consul General of Russia in Harbin Vladimir Oshchepkov, Consul General
of Russia in Guangzhou Alexander Chernousov, Mayor of Qiqihar Sheng Hong Yu,
Vice Mayor of Guangzhou Chen Zhiying, Mayor of Khabarovsk Sergey Kravchuk, Head
of Ufa Administration Ratmir Mavliev, Acting Head of Yekaterinburg Igor
Sutyagin and others.