By the invitation of F. Frattini, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and R. Formigoni, President of the Region Lombardy, St.Petersburg took part in an international conference of the most economically developed regions of the world «The Countries of the World – the Community of the World», which took place in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, on November 19 through 21 this year. On behalf of V.I. Matvienko, the delegation of St.Petersburg was led by M.E. Oseevsky, Vice-Governor.
By the invitation of F. Frattini, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and R. Formigoni, President of the Region Lombardy, St.Petersburg took part in an international conference of the most economically developed regions of the world «The Countries of the World – the Community of the World», which took place in Milan, the capital of Lombardy, on November 19 through 21 this year. On behalf of V.I. Matvienko, the delegation of St.Petersburg was led by M.E. Oseevsky, Vice-Governor.
In total, the conference was attended by the delegates from 15 regions: New South Wales (Australia), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg (Germany), Illinois and California (USA), Quebec (Canada), Lombardy (Italy), Madrid (Spain), Shanghai (China), Nuovo Leon (Mexico), South-Eastern District (Singapore), Ile de France (France), and Gauteng (South Africa). Buenos Aires (Argentina), Dubai (UAE), Massachusetts (USA), and Maharashtra (India) were the observers.
On November 20, a plenary meeting was held under the chairmanship of R. Formigoni in the building of the Milan Stock Exchange, during which the heads of the delegations discussed various issues of post-recession economic development of the regions; a report was made by M. Oseyevsky. Subsequently, on November 20 and 21, the working group sessions were held, concerning the topics «Human Resources, Education, Science, and Innovations», «Public Health Care», and «Environmental Sustainability».
On November 21, during the conference closing ceremony, the participants were greeted by F. Frattini, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Italy, who mentioned in his speech the key role of the regions in the formation of modern international economic relations. According to F. Frattini, further joint efforts of the regions may lead to the creation of a permanent forum for the world – G-15.
As a result of the event, the final declaration was signed by the leaders of the 15 regions, which, inter alia, provides for continuation of the interaction of the experts in the area of education, health care, and environment protection, via a dedicated Internet portal with restricted access.
Source: Committee for External Relations of St.Petersburg