Nizhny Novgorod region gets closer to Moscow

The fifth forum of regions of Russia and Poland is taking place in the Nizhny Novgorod region. On June 4th, Governor Valery Shantsev held a meeting with a Marshal of the Polish Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz. A wide range of issues was discussed during the meeting: from economic and scientific cooperation between the two countries to cooperation in the field of tourism, cultural and historical interaction.

As Mr. Borusewicz noted during the meeting, the Nizhny Novgorod region has a developed industrial sector and a huge tourist potential. "Agriculture, processing industry, engineering - these are the areas, in which one needs to develop inter-regional ties of our territories," Bogdan Borusewicz, a Marshal of the Polish Senate said.

Several days ago, Valery Shantsev gave a tour of the city to VIP guests of the forum, which received most positive reviews. "I'd like to note that monuments of wooden architecture are in a good condition in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Unfortunately, we have not been able to preserve similar buildings in Poland," said Bogdan Borusewicz.

Governor Shantsev shared the plans for the development of the region. According to Valery Shantsev, it is planned to start the construction of high-speed highway "Moscow -Nizhny Novgorod-Kazan".

"We expect that by the time of the FIFA World Cup 2018, the new highway will be launched. The traveling time from Nizhny Novgorod to Moscow will make up 1.5 hours. In 2015, a new passenger terminal of International Airport "Nizhny Novgorod" will be built. The runway of the airport will be lengthened to three thousand meters before 2016. "This will allow the airport to accept any type of aircraft," governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region Valery Shantsev said.

As a result of the meeting, the Marshal of the Polish Senate offered to expand the boundaries of cooperation. "I think that we need to develop tourist cooperation between our regions. The Nizhny Novgorod region has become much closer to Moscow, air and ground transport have been developing in the region very fast," said Bogdan Borusewicz.

The Fifth Forum of Regions of Russia and Poland, "The Russian-Polish Cooperation in the Field of Culture and Education: Results and Prospects," welcomed such guests as Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matvienko, Minister for Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medina, members of the Federation Council, representatives of relevant ministries, departments, science and culture figures from Polish and Russian sides take part in the forum.

The forum is dedicated to the issues of Russian and Polish cooperation in scientific and educational cooperation, joint cultural projects and preservation of historical and cultural heritage, the role of youth in social and economic development of regions.

In 2012, Poland entered the top ten of key economic partners of the Nizhny Novgorod region. The bilateral trade reached nearly $165 million and grew by 20 percent in comparison with 2011.