On July 2, an expanded meeting between the chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg, Yevgeny Grigoriev, and the vice-mayor of Seoul for political affairs, Mr. Kim Won Lee was held in Smolny.
From the side of St. Petersburg, the vice-chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg Andrei Khlutkov, the chairman of the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg Yevgeny Pankevich, the deputy chairman of the Committee for Press and Media Relations Lyubov Fedorova also took part in the conversation.
The parties discussed bilateral cooperation within the framework of the Roadmap signed in 2017 on the development of cooperation between cities for 2017-2021. In particular, issues of trade and economic cooperation, investment, contacts in the field of tourism and culture were raised.
Evgeny Grigoryev emphasized that in recent years, cooperation between St. Petersburg and partners in the Republic of Korea has intensified significantly. Currently, practical interaction between cities is carried out in the field of medicine, personnel services, sports and tourism.
The Chairman of the Committee for External Relations of St. Petersburg thanked the Seoul partners for their assistance in organizing internships in August this year in the capital of the Republic of Korea, civil servants of St. Petersburg.
He also told the delegation about the construction project of the Martial Arts Center in St. Petersburg and invited investors to participate.
Kim Won Lee, in turn, thanked the St. Petersburg side for the meeting and confirmed Seoul's interest in developing cooperation with St. Petersburg. The head of the Seoul delegation shared that while studying at the university he read Russian classics - the works of F. Dostoevsky and M. Gorky and always wanted to visit the Northern capital.
He spoke about the willingness to cooperate in the field of modern technology. In the field of cultural and humanitarian relations, the organization of concerts of St. Petersburg creative groups in Seoul was called a subject of special interest. Also, Kim Won Lee also spoke about the love in Korea for Russian composers. So, for example, in Seoul, to the music of P. Tchaikovsky, one of the traditional Korean dances was performed, and a musical was staged based on the works of S. Rachmaninov. Kim Won Lee also spoke about his meeting with the leadership of the State Hermitage and the interest of the capital of Korea in conducting joint projects with the museum, possibly opening a branch of the Hermitage in Seoul.
In addition, the parties separately discussed the development of cooperation in the field of tourism. It was noted that the introduction of a visa-free regime between our countries had a positive effect on the mutual tourist flow. They also discussed the prospects of cooperation in the development of hotel infrastructure, the mutual exchange of tourist-oriented social advertising and presentation videos.
The official delegation of Seoul was invited to participate in the 23rd UNWTO General Assembly, which will be held in St. Petersburg on September 9-13, 2019.