FUTIAN District recently signed a memorandum to establish a friendly exchange relationship with Togliatti, Samara, the sixth-largest city in Russia, sources from the district foreign affairs office said.

    The establishment of the relationship marks a new chapter between the two districts after Shenzhen and Samara established a friendly exchange relationship in 2009.

    Togliatti is best known as the home of Russia’s largest car manufacturer AvtoVAZ (Lada), which was founded in the late 1960s, and Togliatti Polytechnic Institute.

    Futian District started cooperation in the education field with Togliatti in 2011. Seven schools have established sister relationships, including the Mingde Experimental School with No. 57 Middle School, the top middle school in Samara.

    The two regions are also strengthening cooperation in sports and culture. In February 2015, a delegation headed by Mikel Dmitry Borisovich, chairman of the duma of Togliatti City, visited Futian.

    Togliatti is the third city that Futian has entered into a friendly exchange relationship with in recent years after ties with Iiyama, Nagano in Japan and Issy-les-Moulineaux in France. Futian will establish a tie with Gangnam, Seoul, this month.

    Futian District recently reached an initial agreement for a sister relationship with District V, the heart of Budapest and the political, financial, commercial and tourist center of Hungary.

    In the past two years, nearly 20 government delegations from eight countries, including the U.S., the U.K., France, South Korea, Japan and Russia, visited Futian. Seven countries and regions, including Switzerland, India and Canada intend to establish a friendly exchange relationship.

    Futian’s foreign affairs office organized exchanges with financial talent and financial enterprises from South Korea and invited South Korean financial enterprises to settle in Futian. (Richard Han)