The participants of the meeting were greeted by the head of the delegation, the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg O.A. Kazanskaya and the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands A.N. Cherevko.
The participants of the meeting were greeted by the head of the delegation, the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg O.A. Kazanskaya and the Trade Representative of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands A.N. Cherevko.
In her greeting, Olga Kazanskaya briefly described the current state of cooperation between St. Petersburg and the Netherlands and outlined the promising areas which might be of mutual strategic interest, among them a transport and logistics hub, municipal service and facilities, healthcare, etc. Members of the St. Petersburg delegation described the investment, industrial, cultural and tourist potential of the city. M.S. Meiksin, Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Industrial Policy and Innovations, and D.B. Sinkin, First Vice Chairman of the St. Petersburg Committee for Investments, made presentations of St. Petersburg’s competitive advantages. The Dutch party at the meeting featured representatives of over 40 companies which deal in waste processing, innovative water technologies, logistics and port infrastructure, creative technologies, medical equipment supply, banking services, etc. Detailed presentations on the industry of waste processing and the work of “Amsterdam business” Investment Agency were made for the benefit of the St. Petersburg delegation. At the end of the meeting, the St. Petersburg and Dutch businesspersons conducted a series of direct negotiations on specific areas of cooperation. Two agreements on cooperation were signed in the course of the meeting (an agreement between State Public Institution “St. Petersburg City Tourist Information Bureau” and the University of Business and Hospitality “Saxion” along with an agreement between the St. Petersburg Chamber of Trade and Industry and the Trade Representation of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands). On the first day of the official stay representatives of the St. Petersburg delegation also visited the memorial cemetery “Soviet Field of Honour” in the city of Amersfoort where they participated in the wreath and flower-laying ceremony on behalf of the Government of St. Petersburg, the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the City Council of Leusden and the Soviet Field of Honour Foundation. As it is known, 865 fallen Soviet soldiers are buried on the Soviet Field of Honour; in Russia they are considered gone missing. So far, due to the work performed by the Soviet Field of Honour Foundation and its head, the Dutch reporter and writer Remco Reiding, it has become possible to find additional information in the archives and locate the relatives of almost 200 fallen soldiers.
On the second visiting day of the delegation from St. Petersburg to the Netherlands a meeting of the Vice Governor O.A. Kazanskaya with the Mayor of Rotterdam A. Aboutaleb was held in the City Hall of Rotterdam along with the second session of the Council for Cooperation between St. Petersburg and Rotterdam. In the course of the conversation, Olga Kazanskaya and Ahmed Aboutaleb remarked on the long history of friendly ties between St. Petersburg and the Netherlands in general and Rotterdam in particular and also expressed interest in the development of further cooperation. Mr. A. Aboutaleb started with expressing his sincere condolences in connection with the crash of the Russian airplane А321 in Egypt and said that he was pleased to welcome the delegation from St. Petersburg in Rotterdam. It is important for both cities not only to maintain the old friendship but also to constantly develop it, which is impossible without warm personal relationships and trust between people. O.A. Kazanskaya pointed out that Rotterdam was one of the closest partners of St. Petersburg in the Netherlands. The cities share a lot, and the exchange of experience seems promising for both parties. Urban management appears among the areas of special interest to the Administration of St. Petersburg. The most promising areas of interaction between the cities were discussed at the second session of the Council for Cooperation between St. Petersburg and Rotterdam. The parties exchanged experience and discussed the most relevant issues concerning such topics as creative industries and the development of creative environment, the implementation of joint cultural projects, the prospects of industrial cooperation and the expansion of trade and economic relationships, investment cooperation, water management, the problems of water purification and disposal. During the Council session, a Memorandum on Mutual Understanding in Academic Cooperation was signed by Admiral Makarov State University of Maritime and Inland Shipping and the Netherlands Maritime University STC-GROUP B.V. Following the results of the meeting, the Chairman of the Committee for External Relations E.D. Grigoriev suggested compiling a “roadmap” of joint projects. The suggestion was supported by Philippe Raets, Head of the Rotterdam government, who described contacts with St. Petersburg as warm and meaningful.