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 Sister-cities movement in the Udmurt Republic |
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In the beginning of 1990s the Udmurt Republic had been disclosed to the interantional community. International cooperation becam an important element of the social and economic life in the republic. The capital of Udmurtia - Izhevsk - was the first city in the republic that joined the worl-wide sister-cities movement and thus preserves a leading position in the sister-cities movement in the republic. The city has five officially established sister-cities partnerships: Izhevsk - Tatabanja (Hungary), Izhevsk - Yambol (Bulgaria), Izhevsk - Novi Sad (Yugoslavia), Izhevsk - Lusaka (Zambia), Izhevsk - Sin' Yin' (China).
In 1996 the community of Votkinsk (60 km from Izhevsk) with the help from representatives of the U.S. military operated installation in Votkinsk (OSIA) that appeared there due to the INF Treaty between USA and former Soviet Union set up a process of establishing a friendly relationship. Since there was a similar missile factory in Magna, Utah, very close to the City of West Jordan, a relationship between Votkinsk and West Jordan had been initiated and developed since then. This partnership became a good ground for a number of professional exchanges, an educational program that gained support from West Jordan Rotary Club and currently has a potential to launch many other socially and economically significant projects. The West Jordan sister-cities committee together with the local community supported the idea to create a sister-cities network between Utah and Udmurtia as both regions have similar charasteristic features what meets the methodology of making up such a partnership. The partnership Votkinsk and West Jordan is actually a classic example of sister-cities relation within which the local communities are the active agents.
In May, 2002, the Ministry assisted signing A Sister-Cities Partnership Agreement between Kambarka and Tooele, Utah.
Currently, the Ministry is providing the Administration of Izhevsk with a comprehensive support in its efforts to establish a friendly relation with Salt Lake City, Utah what can give another positive impulse to the sister-cities movement both in Udmurtia and Utah.
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