Perm hosts delegation from the US Consulate-General in Yekaterinburg
The visitors plan to learn more about social and economic development of Perm and the city’s partnership relations with Louisville (USA). The official agreement on twinning relationship between Perm and Louisville was signed in 1994.
Perm hosts the delegation from US Consulate General in Yekaterinburg, which includes the Political and Economic Affairs Consul Heidi Evans and the consul’s assistant for economic issues Mikhail Brodsky.
The delegation was received by the head of the Mayor’s Office Elena Anissimova, the head of Planning and Monitoring Department Elena Kruzel and the head of International and Inter-municipal Relations Department Tatiana Grigorieva.
Addressing the delegation, Elena Anissimova stressed the significance of the existing links with Louisville as these initiated a range of successful cultural and economic projects implemented in Perm.
One of the examples is the regular Mayor’s Community Conversations with residents, which are an adaptation of a successful practice at the Mayor’s office in Louisville and which have become a tradition in Perm since 2006. These meetings provide the opportunity for the residents to address a problem directly to the local government officials, who are thus able to promptly react and take the necessary measures, while the mayor is able to personally monitor the situation and speed up resolving the problem if necessary. The Perm city call-center and the Extreme sports park operating in Perm since 2009 are two other examples of using the positive experience and technologies gained in Louisville.
The visitors were briefed on the socio-economic potential of Perm and the priority directions of its development.
Heidi Evans, in her turn, stressed that she is honoured to be the guest of Perm city and welcomed the participants on behalf of the Consul General in Yekaterinburg Amy Storrow.
“It’s very pleasant to see a city with strong economy and well-developed industries. I have been told that Perm is now preparing for its 300 anniversary. Personally I think that investing into the city’s infrastructure is a challenging task, but it is also vital as this not only means attracting the investors but also improving the residents’ quality of life The Consulate General in Yekaterinburg, in its part, is prepared to promote projects in culture and other spheres,” she said while emphasizing that the twinning links help people in both cities to exchange experience and to learn from each other.
The coming 75 anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War which Russia will mark in 2020 was an important focus of the meeting. On behalf of the Mayor of Perm Dmitry Samoylov, Elena Anissimova invited the guests to take part in the celebrations on May 9, 2020 and also consider participation in the festivities on the City Day (June 12) and in the Perm International Marathon in September next year.