MOSCOW, April 22. /TASS/. Interregional cooperation plays an important role in strengthening bilateral relations between Russia and China, with regions always ready to work together on joint projects, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.
"An important component in strengthening the multifaceted complex of our relations has been traditional interregional cooperation," he pointed out. "In general, we can note a continued interest in the implementation of joint projects, primarily in the economic and educational spheres," he said.
The top diplomat pointed to the fact that after abolishing COVID-19 restrictions last year, "there has been a sharp increase in the number of exchanges between Russian regions and Chinese provinces."
"The intensity of interaction in trade and economic, cultural and humanitarian, educational and other spheres has significantly increased," he emphasized. "Our ministry provides the necessary support to organize visits of delegations from our regions to China. In the past six months, there have been 15 such visits. Often the delegations are headed directly by the governors, which undoubtedly increases the effectiveness of the dialogue," the foreign minister said.
According to Lavrov, available statistics confirm the growing interest in the development of interregional cooperation on both sides of the Russian-Chinese border. "A total of 117 agreements on cooperation in various spheres have been signed between 43 Russian regions and Chinese provinces and autonomous regions of China, and Russian municipalities have 313 agreements on twinning with their Chinese counterparts," the top diplomat said.