The current state of affairs and the prospects of expanding cooperation between the cities were discussed by the representatives of St. Petersburg and Lyon at the round table meeting held in Smolny on October 12.
The current state of affairs and the prospects of expanding cooperation between the cities were discussed by the representatives of St. Petersburg and Lyon at the round table meeting held in Smolny on October 12.
The French party at the round table featured members of the delegation from the Metropolis of Lyon headed by the Vice President of the Metropolis Alain Galliano.
The St. Petersburg party included heads of seven special-purpose committees of the Administration of St. Petersburg, the St. Petersburg Chamber of Trade and Industry, the Cluster of Pharmaceutical and Medical Industry, and State Research and Design Center of St. Petersburg Master Plan. During the meeting, Mr. Galliano made a presentation of the Metropolis of Lyon in which he told the audience about the major priorities and trends in the region’s development. Representatives of St. Petersburg in their turn gave a detailed description of the current condition and the development of such areas of the city’s life as urbanism and preservation of the historical urban environment; “smart city” and improvement of living standards; education, science, industry, including the cluster approach to the city’s economy; promotion of St. Petersburg as a tourist center on the European market. On completion of the round table, the parties came to the conclusion that the cities possessed mutual interest in facilitating cooperation in various spheres and agreed to send delegations of subject matter specialists to participate in the major international conferences and events to be held in St. Petersburg and Lyon at the end of 2015 (including the International Forum “Life Sciences Invest” in St. Petersburg and the Festival of Lights in Lyon). On October 12, the delegation from Lyon also visited Strelna municipal settlement and got acquainted with the work of “Special Economic Zones” in St. Petersburg through the example of the “Neudorf” platform.
Following the results of the visit of the Lyon delegation, another official visit of an expanded delegation of the Lyon Metropolis to St. Petersburg is to be organized in 2016; the delegation will be headed by Gérard Collomb, Senator, Mayor of Lyon and President of the Metropolis of Lyon, accompanied by a large group of business representatives.