The meeting was attended by the first Deputy Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Sergey Markov and representative of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in St. Petersburg Vladimir Zapevalov.
During the conversation, the parties discussed the current state and prospects of cooperation between St. Petersburg and Spain in various fields. Textile, pharmaceutical, food industry, automotive industry, and science-intensive projects were noted. Special attention was paid to cooperation in the field of education. Thus, Alexander Govorunov noted that more than 100 cooperation agreements have been concluded between St. Petersburg and Spanish universities (mainly from Barcelona and Madrid).
In addition, cooperation in the sphere of culture and tourism was discussed. The Vice-Governor spoke about the international festival "Children's Petersburg", held at the end of May - beginning of June this year in Madrid, and offered to actively develop cooperation in the field of children's creativity. Special attention was paid to the events dedicated to the 260th anniversary of the birth of the Russian architect of Spanish origin Augustine de Betancourt.
Felix Valdez, in his turn, said that the Consulate General of Spain in St. Petersburg issues 20 thousand visas a year, while noting the insufficient intensity of direct flights and offered to work together on the possibility of its expansion.
During the conversation, the parties also discussed the development of cooperation between St. Petersburg and partner cities: particularly, with Barcelona as part of the exchange of experience in the implementation of "Smart city" technologies. In addition, it was noted that work to develop cooperation with Madrid will be continued.
The Consul General of the Kingdom of Spain thanked Alexander Govorunov for the meeting and assured that he will work for the benefit of the development of bilateral relations.
Alexander Govorunov congratulated Mr. Valdez on his appointment and wished him success in his work.
Reference: Félix Valdés Valentin Gamaso was assigned to the Consul General of the Kingdom of Spain in St. Petersburg on September 10, 2018 (the date of issuance of the exequatur).