Consul General Traveled to Izhevsk and Votkinsk (Oct 6, 2006)
2006 Press Releases
Consul General Traveled to Izhevsk and Votkinsk
October 6, 2006
On October 3-6, Consul General John Stepanchuk traveled to Izhevsk and Votkinsk to greet the visiting Mayor of West Jordan, Utah, David Newton and joined him in a roundtable with the Mayors of Izhevsk and Votkinsk, and Deputy Mayor of Kambarka in support of Utah-Udmurtia sister-cities programs. The roundtable also included senior oblast officials (including local MFA reps), local community leaders, U.S. arms control inspectors at the Votkinsk portal monitoring facility, and a delegation of surgeons and health experts from West Jordan and Salt Lake City. All participants stressed their commitment to further sister city relationships, among the most active in the Urals consular district. Jennifer Andellin, State Coordinator of the Utah-Udmurtia Sister-Cities Partnership, dwelt on the importance of voluntarism and the need for creative thinking to generate funding to sustain sister-city relationships. The most effective partnership has been between Kambarka and Tooele, Utah. It has included several educational exchanges and a number of joint medical programs, the major one – a “telemedicine” project that will allow Kambarka medical personnel to communicate with their U.S. colleagues through a digital video and internet connection. In addition to the sister-cities round table, the Consul General met with alumni of US exchange programs in Izhevsk and Votkinsk.