Remote U.S., Russian Cities Linked for Economic Progress
The USAID-funded CityLinks Alaska-Russian Far East (RFE) Partnership held a best practices symposium August 3–5, 2007 in Vladivostok to mark the culmination of the two-year program which focused on increasing local government transparency and citizen involvement in community decision-making.
Since 2005, CityLinks has established eight partnerships between the Alaskan cities of Anchorage, Juneau, Wasilla, Kenai and Skagway and the RFE municipalities of Bikin, Bolshoy Kamen, Dolinsk, Ussuriysk, Nevelsk, Luchegorsk, Viazemskiy, and Arsinyev. Combining their resources and expertise, linked cities worked together on tourism, small business, and investment projects, with the aim of building sustainable communities in the rural areas of the RFE.
CityLinks partners gathered at the August symposium to share project results and lessons learned with other RFE communities interested in economic development. The event attracted high-level Russian and Alaskan government officials, economic development experts, and the U.S. Consul General in Vladivostok.
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Many Russian officials, including the Vyazemsky mayor and Khabarovsky Kray development ministers, attended the symposium |
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