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.