Azerbaijani Mingachevir and Armenian Alaverdi became twin cities of Polotsk

May 26, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. Azerbaijan's Mingachevir and Armenia's Alaverdi have become sister cities of Polotsk. Cooperation agreements were signed during the festive celebrations in the ancient Belarusian city, a BELTA correspondent reports. Today, a sister city agreement with the city of Alaverdi was signed in a solemn ceremony. The document was signed on behalf of the cities by the Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee Alexander Poznyak and the Mayor of Alaverdi Artavazd Varosyan. The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to Belarus Armen Khachatryan, who also took part in the ceremony, congratulated Polotsk on its 1150th anniversary, noting that Polotsk is a symbol of spirituality and culture, a city of great Christian traditions. The Armenian and Belarusian peoples have the same aspiration for further cooperation and strengthening of fraternal contacts, the ambassador added. Polotsk and Alaverdi intend to promote the establishment and expansion of bilateral economic, scientific, technical, cultural and humanitarian cooperation, and to create conditions for establishing direct contacts between business entities of all forms of ownership. The Armenian and Belarusian cities also confirmed their interest in developing relations in the humanitarian sphere. The agreement will contribute to the establishment and development of direct ties between educational institutions, cultural and sports organizations, museums and theaters, and media. As emphasized by the Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee Alexander Poznyak, contacts between the cities will develop in various directions. Polotsk has long-standing contacts with Armenia. Recently, the city hosted a children's drawing contest "Armenia Through the Eyes of Children" and an exhibition of Armenian literature. Entrepreneurs from the friendly country have begun to show interest in Polotsk, and the first sign of this was a cafe with Armenian cuisine. The day before, on May 25, a joint statement on sister city relations between Polotsk and Mingachevir was signed, which is designed to promote the development of relations between the cities. Priorities in relations will include establishing business contacts, promoting trade and tourism, and exchange and cooperation in education and culture. The head of the executive authority of Mingachevir Niyazi Mufar oglu Yusubov admitted to journalists that the Azerbaijani delegation was captivated by the hospitality and beauty of Polotsk. He is confident that friendly contacts between the two cities will contribute to mutual understanding and further cooperation between Azerbaijan and Belarus. The Chairman of the Polotsk City Executive Committee noted that in the 1150-year history of Polotsk, friendly relations with different countries and peoples have always been important. "Cultural and economic contacts between our cities will develop because there is a mutual aspiration and interest for this," he stressed. -0-