Mintimer Shaimiev meets Chinese Consul General Wu Yingqin

On August 14, in the Kazan Kremlin, Tatarstan State Counsellor Mintimer Shaimiev had a meeting with Chinese Consul General in Kazan Wu Yingqin.

At the beginning of the meeting, Wu Yingqin said: "We know that you – the first President of Tatarstan, respected by everyone, have made a great contribution to the development of the economy of the republic, maintaining stability in the regional society, peace and harmony in the relations between representatives of different religions and all ethnicities, living in Tatarstan. We have been living here for more than a year and have had a lot of meetings with people. We know that all the peoples of the republic respect you. As a politician, you are known not only in Tatarstan, but also in Russia. And the Chinese people know you too because it was you who received our leader Hu Jintao in 2007. You pay great attention to the development of cooperation between Tatarstan and Chinese regions, you have established a good basis for cooperation with Tatarstan, which is very rapidly gaining momentum particularly in recent years. As you know, the interregional cooperation is carried out in the "Volga-Yangtze" format under which both countries cooperate wonderfully in different areas in the interests of the Volga regions of Russia, including Tatarstan.”

Yingqin stressed that the establishment of the Chinese Consulate in Kazan means that China attaches great importance to the development of China's relations with Tatarstan and Volga Federal District. He also noted that due to overall support given by Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov, the regional Government, and the Mayor's Office of Kazan, the issue of finding premises for the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Kazan was successfully resolved.

He invited Mintimer Shaimiev to the opening ceremony of the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China to be held on the 22nd of August this year in Kazan with the participation of Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Russia Li Hui.

Shaimiev noted that 14 constituent entities of Volga Federal District are a huge territory with a large industrial, scientific, technical and cultural potential. "It is very honorable, informative and responsible to work in such a large consular district. We gratefully accepted the decision of the People's Republic of China to choose Kazan to locate the Consulate. We wish you success and will contribute to your successful activities," he said.

The meeting also discussed the expansion of contacts between China and Tatarstan in the sphere of economy, culture, science, education and preservation of cultural heritage. The need for cooperation and participation of Tatarstan in the Great Silk Road World Heritage project was also noted.