Ｓｐｅｅｃｈ ｂｙ Ｓｅｒｇｅｙ Ｐａｒａｍｏｎｏｖ， Ｅｘｅｃｕｔｉｖｅ Ｖｉｃｅ Ｐｒｅｓｉｄｅｎｔ ｏｆ Ｒｕｓｓｉａｎ Ｔｗｉｎ Ｃｉｔｉｅｓ Ｉｎｔｅｒｎａｔｉｏｎａｌ Ａｓｓｏｃｉａｔｉｏ

On behalf of the delegation of Russian local governments， and entrusted by Boris Gromov， president of the Russian Twin Cities International Association and governor of Moscow Oblast， I would like to extend our sincere greetings to all the participants of the China International Friendship Cities Conference.

The Russian delegation consists of nearly 50 people. The number and composition of the Russian delegation prove Russian cities’ growing interest in expanding cooperation between cities and improving the quality and efficiency of cooperation under the current conditions.

Concerning the exchanges between Russian and Chinese friendship cities， I would like to point out that， a prerequisite to the growing of interest in the cooperation between friendship cities is that the rapid economic growth of our two countries increases the local governments’ budgets for international friendly cooperation. In fact， the interest in exchanges between the people of the cities in both countries has been expanding.

The current Russian-Chinese relations are characterized by sustained rapid development， having a solid legal basis， good coordination between different institutions and active contacts at all levels. The principle of the relations， the main directions and fields of bilateral cooperation are all reflected in the Treaty of Good-Neighbourliness and Friendly Cooperation between the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation， which was signed in Moscow in 2001.

Cooperation in economy， trade and investment has been effectively active. In 2007 the bilateral trade volume reached a new record of $40 billion.

In May this year， President Medvedev of the Russian Federation made his first official visit to China. In August this year， Prime Minister Putin came to Beijing to attend the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games. During the visit， he met with Chinese President Hu Jintao， Premier Wen Jibao and reiterated the policy of adhering to the mutually beneficial and constructive cooperation.

At the same time， a Russian delegation took part in the Beijing Olympic Games. This event reflects the high level of national and economic development， and the full preparation and openness of the whole society of China， one of the major powers in the multi-polar world.

Inter-regional exchanges are vigorously developing. More than 60 Russian cities have close friendship-city relations with Chinese cities. In fact， every major citiy in Russia has partners in China. Over 100 agreements of cooperation have been signed between local governments at all levels.

The cooperation in the cultural fields is a major part of bilateral relations. The two sides have made a large cooperation plan， including holding annual cultural festival， setting up joinuniversity， promoting traditional Chinese medicine therapy in Russia， and strengthening tourism and sports exchanges in a planned way.

The Year of Russia in China in 2006 and the Year of China in Russia in 2007 are unprecedented in the history of bilateral exchanges and a clear reflection of the high-level Russian-Chinese relationship. Over 600 activities in the fields of politics， economy and trade， science and technology， and culture were held. The current cooperation focuses on youth exchanges. It is planned to hold the Year of Russian Language in China in 2009 and the Year of Chinese Language in Russia in 2010.

Russian cities have broad and comprehensive ties with foreign cities. The Russian Twin Cities International Association has been in charge of this work for more than 40 years. I would like to take this opportunity to inform all the participants that our association is going to hold the 45th anniversary celebrations. I hope to meet you all during the celebrations from April 25 to 27， 2009. We will learn from the experience of our Chinese friends in hosting this international friendship cities conference.

Our association also took part in the activities organized by some international organizations. We are one of the co-founders of UCLG Euro-Asian Regional Section. Their useful work has received good response from Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States.

I would like to express welcome again to the initiative of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the China International Friendship Cities Association for holding this conference. I would also like to reiterate that we are willing to adhere to the practical and mutually beneficial exchanges between Russian cities and Chinese cities and cities of all countries where the participants of this conference come from.

I would like to call on you， distinguished participants of the 2008 China International Friendship Cities Conference， to continue the exchanges between cities， and to learn from Chinese local governments’ experiences.

Wishing you all and leaders of all countries success in improving the living standards of the billions of people living in the multi-polar world!

(Translated from the Chinese translation)