The aim of the visit was to coordinate joint events within the framework of the Russian-Greek Bilateral Year 2016.
The aim of the visit was to coordinate joint events within the framework of the Russian-Greek Bilateral Year 2016.
The program of the visit to St. Petersburg was organized by the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg. A meeting of the Mayor of Piraeus Ioannis Moralis with the Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg E.D. Grigoriev was held as a part of the visit; during the meeting, the parties exchanged opinions on the prospects of cooperation.
The Mayor of Piraeus expressed his interest in the development of relations with St. Petersburg, in holding joint events during the Russian-Greek Bilateral Year 2016 and in signing a revised agreement between the cities which would comply with the spirit of times. (Background information: until this visit the cities had followed the Agreement on friendship and cooperation between Leningrad and Piraeus signed in 1966).
At the meeting of the Mayor of Piraeus with the Rector of Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping S.O. Baryshnikov the parties agreed on signing an agreement on cooperation with the University of Piraeus in the area of training maritime transport specialists along with organizing a visit of the sail training ship "MIR" to Piraeus in 2016.
Interest in cooperation with Piraeus was also expressed by the Captain of the sea port “Big Port St. Petersburg” A.B. Volkov (development of contacts between the ports) and the President of “Zenith” Football Club M.L. Mitrofanov (reached an agreement to hold friendly games between the junior teams of “Zenith F.C.” and “Olympiacos F.C”).
During the meeting at the Committee for Physical Culture and Sports, the parties agreed on the participation of St. Petersburg representatives in the festivities commemorating the 90th anniversary of the Greek Football Club “Olympiacos F.C” (the Mayor of Piraeus is the Vice President of the club) in the middle of December 2015 and on the participation of a team from Piraeus in the International Youth Tournament in the Memory of B.Ya. Levin-Kogan to be held in St. Petersburg on February 26-28, 2016.
Among the promising area of cooperation: development of direct contacts between the cultural establishment of St. Petersburg and Piraeus in the context of the Russian-Greek Bilateral Year 2016 (Piraeus accommodates the Hellenic Maritime Museum, the Archaeological Museum of Piraeus, an opera house, a conservatory, a philharmonic hall, a picture gallery), the participation of Piraeus in the St. Petersburg Marine Festival, the participation of St. Petersburg in the program “Piraeus – the cultural capital of Europe 2021” (Piraeus is a candidate city for carrying this title in 2021).