Perm became the only Russian municipality to participate in the high- status International Forum in China

Photo by Natalia Nefedova

The participation of the Perm delegation in the  Forum of People’s Diplomacy and Sister Cities of the SCO member states is an international recognition of the Perm city administration activity  in developing  international relations of the city. 

On June 14-16 on the invitation of the Qingdao Municipality, a sister city of Perm, the Perm delegation took part  in the Forum of People’s Diplomacy and Sister Cities of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) held in  Qingdao. The Forum started  symbolically on the date  when  the SCO began its  work exactly 22 years ago.  The Forum  is attended by about 30 delegations, including the   Perm delegation which is the only one representing the municipality from Russia. As part of the city delegation, the forum was attended by Acting  Deputy Head of Perm City Administration  Alexander Molokovskikh, Head of the City Culture and Youth Policy Department  Vasily Golovin and Gymnasium 2 Director Lyudmila Sukhanova.

Relations with the People’s Republic of China have always been a priority for Perm , and in modern conditions this interaction  becomes  even more  relevant.

Natalia Styopkina,  Minister - Counsellor of the Russian  Federation Embassy to the People’s Republic of China, the Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the Secretariat of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, who met with  representatives of the Perm delegation,  highly appreciated the city’s work in establishing international relations. She noted that the Forum facilitates the exchange of experience and search of new partners, which is important for the development of the country as a whole.

During the main programme of the forum, representatives of various countries and cities as well as various organizations presented their reports on international cooperation activities. Thus, Alexander Molokovskikh spoke about Perm’s contribution to strengthening public diplomacy. Among the examples are  the annual «Perm-Vostok» Forum;  regional branch of the «Russian-Chinese Friendship Society »; Confucius Class in  gymnasium 2   where children learn the Chinese language and culture of China; joint exhibitions of children’s art held regularly. The nearest exhibition of paintings by young artists will be held in July in Qingdao, and works by Chinese schoolchildren specially created for Perm can already be seen at the virtual exhibition in online format.   

We learned from our own experience that relations between sister cities, direct links between municipalities and residents of different countries are beneficial  both for the development of cities and for  residents who feel part of a large Eurasian community. We are very pleased that such a representative forum of the SCO countries takes place in the partner city of Perm - Qingdao. Our city intends to focus on the wider involvement of young people into people’s diplomacy, as well as to strengthen cooperation in areas such as the economy, sports and the environment, where we also have certain achievements. Also thanks to this forum, our delegation hopes to expand its contacts with other SCO countries, - said Alexander Molokovsky in his  report.