External Economic Activity / Twin Towns and Relations

Twin towns are towns in different states that have established permanent friendly links for mutual learning about their life, history and culture, and to strengthen friendship and cooperation between nations. Twinning of towns makes development of good relations between populations possible. Friendly links between towns with compatible histories play a large role in the struggle for peace all over the world. In 1957 twin town representatives set up the World Federation of United and Twinned Towns (WFTT).

Cooperation of the towns is expressed in exchanges of delegations, sporting and artistic groups, exhibitions, literature, films, photographic materials on the lives of the towns, and information on the experience of town management. The beginning of such cooperation took place in 1942, when the heroic defenders and residents of Stalingrad received a telegram from the local authorities and residents of the English town of Coventry, which expressed admiration for their bravery and a proposal to establish friendly relations. In 1957 twin town representatives set up the world federation of twinned towns. By decision of the WFTT in 1963 the last Sunday in April was named the World Twin Town Day. The example of Coventry and Stalingrad was followed by other towns in all the republics of the Soviet Union, and also by many countries around the world. With the increase in the number of towns wishing to develop friendly contacts, the question of organisation of the twinning movement became pressing. In Russian the organiser of the movement was the International Association of Twin Towns.

The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, valued the activity of Russian towns in strengthening links with foreign partners thus: ‘The twin town movement, whose start was laid as early as the time of the Second World War, over recent years has become a convincing example of the effectiveness of national diplomacy. For several decades already this civilian initiative, enjoying wide recognition and support from the international community, has served to strengthen solidarity, mutual understanding, peace and friendship between nations.'

Towns in Krasnodar Region are actively taking part in the twin town movement. At the present day towns in the Region are twins of towns in Bulgaria, Great Britain, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Rumania, the USA, Turkey, the Ukraine, Finland, France, Chile, Horvatia, Estonia and China.

KRASNODAR REGION TWIN TOWNS

Results of development of cooperation between twin-cities of Krasnodar Region for 2008