On October 29, a meeting of the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg A.N. Govorunov with the Mayor of Bethlehem Vera Babun took place in Smolny.
On October 29, a meeting of the Vice Governor of St. Petersburg A.N. Govorunov with the Mayor of Bethlehem Vera Babun took place in Smolny.
In the course of the meeting, the parties discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation. According to the words of Vera Babun, the cooperation of Bethlehem with St. Petersburg and Russia is of strategic importance for Bethlehem.
The Mayor described the restoration progress of the Church of the Nativity and the construction of a sport complex to be named after Vladimir Putin. Alexandr Govorunov mentioned that, being affiliated cities, St. Petersburg and Bethlehem possessed vast potential for interaction in the areas of business, culture and tourism.
In particular, the Vice Governor expressed the willingness of St. Petersburg to send specialists and thus contribute to the implementation of such projects as the reconstruction of Star Street and the historical center of Bethlehem as well as the reconstruction of the Church of the Nativity. Moreover, teachers and coaches from St. Petersburg are ready to participate in the work of the multifunctional complex on V.V. Putin Street in Bethlehem and conduct short-term courses and master classes. St. Petersburg is also ready to render methodological assistance to the Palestinian counterparts in the elaboration of the curriculum and study programs for such subjects as music, voice training, painting, sculpture, acting. (For more information and the photo spread visit the official website of the Administration of St. Petersburg: http://gov.spb.ru/gov/admin/govorunov-n/news/75738/).
At the end of the meeting, Alexandr Govorunov suggested elaborating a joint document with a detailed program of bilateral cooperation in various spheres for a 3-year period. He emphasized that such an agreement would increase the effectiveness of the cooperation between St. Petersburg and Bethlehem.
A meeting of the Bethlehem delegation with the administration of the Committee for City Planning and Architecture of St. Petersburg was also organized in the context of the visit. The parties discussed the project of a bypass road around Bethlehem which would connect the Southern satellite towns to the city. The delegation also visited the Faculty of Asian and African Studies of St. Petersburg State University where they attended a discussion with the students, the National Library of Russia which contains a unique collection of Arabic manuscripts, and the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of the Russian Academy of Sciences where they attended a meeting with the administration of the Institute.
For more information at the Committee for External Relations: +7(911)954-96-94, moldovanov@kvs.gov.spb.ru – Stanislav Andreyevich Moldovanov, Specialist of the Asia, Africa and Latin America Countries Division.