The cooperation of Kazan and Hangzhou has been discussed in the City Hall

City leaders expressed their willingness to further cooperation in the areas of tourism, economics, and IT-technologies.

(KZN.RU, October 15, Alsu Safina). The exchange of experience in the field of tourism, IT-technologies, and sports was discussed today at the Kazan City Hall at a meeting of the city’s leadership with a delegation from Hangzhou, China.

Evgeniya Lodvigova, the vice-mayor of Kazan, reminded that this year marks 15 years since the conclusion of an agreement on the establishment of twin relations between Kazan and Hangzhou; they are sister cities since then. “Hangzhou is an interesting, original, unusual city and differs from many other cities in China”, said E. Lodvigova. Speaking about the capital of Tatarstan, she noted that this is a city with a population of 1.2 million people, inhabited by more than 100 nationalities. “Tolerance is one of the main wealth that we hold and which we tremblingly care for”, marked the Vice-Mayor of Kazan.

Kazan is the third and sports capital of Russia, with a developed sports infrastructure. In particular, this year Kazan has become one of the organizing cities of the World Cup. During the World Cup, the city was visited by many football fans; many tourists came from China.

According to the vice-mayor of Kazan, the capital of Tatarstan and China are connected by many things in general. Along with Hangzhou, the twin cities of Kazan are also Shenzhen, Guangzhou. In addition, an agreement has been concluded with the city of Chengdu. “We see that more and more Chinese residents are coming to Kazan. It would be desirable to hope that the relations that have been lining up for a long time will give a positive result”, believes E. Lodvigova.

The delegation of Hangzhou arrived in the capital of Tatarstan yesterday. “During this short time, we felt and saw that this is a beautiful city, it has a rich and deep cultural history. Kazan has left a big mark in our hearts”, said Chen Xinhua, the vice-mayor of the municipal government of Hangzhou. He was pleased with the cooperation between the two cities. “We can consider cooperation in different areas, such as economy, culture, and others, deepen our relations, promote cooperation in different directions”, he said. “Our cooperation is a sort of platform for further development.”

Less than a year ago, a delegation of Kazan headed by Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of the city, visited Hangzhou. The meeting of the World Council of the United Cities and Local Government organization was held there. Then, during the visit to China, many working meetings took place. What was planned a year ago is now being implemented in actual steps and actions, noted E. Lodvigova. In addition, a delegation from Kazan together with Darya Sannikova, the director of the Tourism Promotion Committee, visited China, including Hangzhou, in September of this year. A great impression during these visits was made, in particular, by the Hangzhou Tourist Counting Center, which uses a unique method of tracking tourist flows.

E. Lodvigova noted that the experience of Hangzhou is of interested for Kazan, which seeks to develop the tourism industry and is interested in a systematic approach to counting tourists. The Vice Mayor of Hangzhou assured that the authorities of the Chinese city are ready to provide all possible support to the leadership of Kazan in this matter.

During the meeting, the participants discussed cooperation in the field of IT. Thus, Mr. Chen Xinhua said that Hangzhou will host a number of events that could be of interest to Kazan companies and entrepreneurs. In particular, a seminar on artificial intelligence as an instrument of the city will be held in December. It will be held on the days of the first congress of the Local Cooperation Committee “Belt and Road Initiative”. The Committee was established within the framework of the World Organization “United Cities and Local Government”. It is intended to become a platform for cooperation and exchange of experience, resources and search for win-win results in areas such as economic development, culture, and education, as well as urban and agricultural management. The Vice Mayor of Hangzhou invited the leadership of Kazan to attend this event.

In addition, an international conference on innovative technologies will be held in the Chinese city in May 2019. Well-known successful entrepreneurs, scientists, and researchers from more than 10 countries will take part in it. Mr. Chen Xinhua expressed the hope that young Kazan specialists and entrepreneurs will be able to take part in the conference.

Also during the working meeting, the participants discussed cooperation in the field of sports. Thus, soon Hangzhou will take the world championship in swimming in short water, in 2022 the tournament will be held in the capital of Tatarstan. According to E. Lodvigova, Kazan is interested in the experience of the Chinese city in studying the experience in organizing and conducting these competitions.

The Vice-Mayor of Kazan marked that such an exchange of experience and such events strengthen the long-term friendship of the two cities.

Ildar Shakirov, the deputy head of the Kazan Executive Committee, Daria Sannikova, the director of the Tourism Promotion Committee, Artur Valiakhmetov, the chairman of the Economic Development Committee, Azat Abzalov, the head of the Department of Culture, Rifat Khannanov, the head of the Information Technology and Communications Directorate, Xia Jiliang, the director of the Commission on Economics and Information Technology of Hangzhou, Du Shigen, the deputy director of the Office of Foreign Affairs, and others also attended the event.

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