On June 9 a delegation of Västerbotten county, Sweden, led by Mrs.Chris Heister, Governor of Västerbotten, arrived in Karelia on a two-day visit. The same day Head of Karelia Andrei Nelidov held a meeting with the guests from Sweden.
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Members of Swedish delegation: Mrs. Brigitta Heier, vice-governor, Mrs. Chris Heister, Governor, Mr. Mats-Rune Bergström, director of County Administrative Board, Oksana Abramova, interpreter |
Parties discussed issues of supporting and developing cooperation in various spheres, amongst which are tourism, highlighted by Mr. Nelidov as an area of primary interest, public health, energy-efficiency and use of renewable energy sources.
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Governor of Västerbotten at the training simulator for harvester operator, IT Park of PetrSU |
On results of the meeting in the Government of the republic the parties have signed a joint document stating the basic directions for activity in 2011-2013 within the framework of cooperation between Karelia and Västerbotten county. According to the protocol, Valentin Luntsevich, Deputy Head of the Republic of Karelia and Minister of Economic Development, and Ms.Birgitta Heijer, Deputy Governor of Västerbotten, have also signed the document. There has been also signed the agreement between the Ministry of Economic Developmentof Karelia and Västerbotten county government on continuation of the project of activity of the Swedish-Karelian information business center.
Program of the delegation's visit also included acquaintance with the IT Part of Petrozavodsk State University, visit to the Business Incubator, participation in the joint seminar "Västerbotten-Karelia: cooperation between the regions and municipalities".
Discussions at the seminar, apart from presenting the basic achievements and challenges of bilateral cooperation, also focused on implementation of the joint project "Eco-efficient communities", which is being realized between the two regions since 2010.
