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MINSK, 20 June (BelTA) – Plans to establish direct ties between Belarusian and Russian cities were discussed in Minsk during a working visit of a delegation of the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government, BelTA has learned.
“Our association unites all municipalities of the Russian Federation. The purpose of my visit is to promote integration with the fraternal nation of Belarus,” said co-chair of the association Galina Danilchenko.
According to her, cooperation agreements are concluded, and interaction between Russian and Belarusian regions is facilitated within the framework of forums of regions. The association intends to give a bigger priority to this field of work. “The association's members are more than 17,000 municipalities of the Russian Federation. There is a lot of work to be done. This work is necessary and important because we are part of the Union State. We will support and expand this interaction. There is no similar association in Belarus, but we sign cooperation agreements between cities and this is already bearing fruit. Direct horizontal links tend to yield the best results,” Galina Danilchenko remarked.
She emphasized that a municipality is not just an administrative unit, but an entity that engages in direct public outreach. “The head of a municipality is a person who is closest to local residents. The task of local governments is to make people's lives better and more comfortable. That is why the exchange of experience and best practices between municipalities yields very good outcomes. This applies to efforts to create a comfortable urban environment, to promote tourism. There are many other areas where the exchange of knowledge can be highly instrumental in addressing problems on the ground,” the co-chair of the association said.
Minsk Deputy Mayor Andrei Strigelsky noted that regional development is a priority for Belarus, and Minsk is interested in expanding international contacts at the municipal level. “Today, we clearly understand the president's message: a strong Belarus means strong regions. This also applies to the districts of Minsk. We were pleased to exchange cooperation proposals with the All-Russian Association and we will establish contacts with it in the near future,” he said.
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