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On March 21 and 22, 2011, a delegation of City of Incheon (Republic of Korea) headed by Mr Song Young-Gil, Mayor, visited St.Petersburg.
The first event in the program of the visit was the inauguration of the foundation stone in the area of Petrovskaya Street, at which a square in honor of the partner city of Incheon is planned.
After opening the square, the official delegation went to the Central Naval Museum. In the Hall of Russian Navy that houses the jack-flag of cruiser Varyag, the ceremony of signing the Agreement on the exchange of memorabilia for the display was held, between Song Young-Gil, Mayor of Incheon, and Andrei Yakovlevich Lyalin, CNM Director. The delegation also took the opportunity to inspect the exposition.
Another major event of March 21, 2011 was signing the Memorandum of Understanding between the Chamber of Commerce of St.Petersburg and the Chamber of Commerce of Incheon, by Anton Savoshchev, Vice President, from St.Petersburg side, and by Mr Kwang-Sig Kim, President of the Chamber, from the Korean side. The parties agreed to assist the business communities of St.Petersburg and Incheon, as well as to strengthen and develop the economic and trade ties between the two cities.
On March 22, 2011, Nikolai Mikhailovich Kropachev, Rector of St.Petersburg State University, and Mr Song Young-Gil, Mayor of Incheon, signed the Framework Agreement on Cooperation for the establishment of overseas branch of the St.Petersburg State University in the free economic zone of Incheon, Metropolitan City of Incheon, Republic of Korea. Upon completion of the signing ceremony, the Mayor of the South Korean city gave a lecture for the students and the faculty of the university, on “International Political Situation in North-East Asia and Russia’s Role”.
On the same day, at a meeting of Valentina Matvienko, St.Petersburg Governor, and Mr Song Young-Gil, Mayor of Incheon, discussed was the cooperation in the areas of economics, politics, science, youth policy, and social issues. The Governor noted that a significant potential for cooperation was laid down in the area of innovation and high technology, scientific and cultural sphere, as well as tourism and trade fair activities. The Governor proposed to elaborate a joint program of cooperation for the next 2 years.
The Mayor of Incheon told about the establishment of a global campus at the special economic zone of the South Korean city, intended for inviting the world’s leading universities, including St.Petersburg State University, to work in. The governor expressed St.Petersburg’s interest in the exchange of experiences between the economic zones of our city and Incheon. Mr Mayor also delivered the idea of creating an area of St.Petersburg in Incheon covering almost 8,000 square meters. The local government has allocated nearly $ 18 million on its creation. The official opening of the area is scheduled for May 2011.
At the end of the meeting, Valentina Ivanovna Matvienko, Governor of St.Petersburg, handed a letter of thanks for Mr Lee Sok-Bae, Consul General of Republic of Korea in St.Petersburg, who was appointed to the post of Minister for Political Affairs at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Russia.
Reference:
St.Petersburg and Incheon have friendly relations established by the Agreement between the administration of Kronstadt District of St.Petersburg of Russian Federation and the Administration of Incheon of Republic of Korea, concerning the trade-economic, scientific-technical and cultural cooperation, and signed on September 8, 2010.
In addition, Incheon (formerly, Chemulpo) is known in our city due to a memorable event in Russian history, which became the leitmotif of all activities. It was in the bay area at this city that the first-rank battle cruiser Varyag and the gunboat “Koreets” took their battle with much more numerous squadron of the Japanese Navy commanded by Admiral Uriu, which showed the courage and heroism of the Russian sailors.
According the SZTU data, foreign trade turnover of St.Petersburg and the Republic of Korea increased in 2010, as compared with 2009, by 1.9 times and amounted to 886.2 million (10th place among the trading partners of St.Petersburg).
The volume of investments made by the Republic of Korea in St.Petersburg in 2010 amounted to $533.9 million (third place among the countries investing in the economy of St.Petersburg), of which $208.9 millions are direct investments, while 3$25 millions fall into the category “Miscellanea”.
News Source: St.Petersburg Committee for External Relations