Guangming District strengthened its international partnerships Nov. 14 by signing a Memorandum of Friendly Cooperation with Innopolis, an innovation-driven city in the Republic of Tatarstan, the Russian Federation.

The signing took place during a visit by a government delegation from Tatarstan, marking Guangming’s fourth friendship-district partnership following Belarus’s Gantsevichi District of Brest Region, the Tsentralny District of Minsk in Belarus, and Badalona in Catalonia, Spain.

Located in the eastern part of the East European Plain, Tatarstan is rich in natural resources with oil reserves ranking second in Russia. Its capital, Kazan — one of Russia’s three major historic cities alongside Moscow and St. Petersburg — is a major economic, industrial, scientific, and cultural hub, and has maintained friendly ties with Shenzhen since 2012.

Officially inaugurated in 2015, Innopolis — the partner city newly linked with Guangming — is Russia’s first dedicated IT city, situated at the confluence of the Volga and Sviyaga rivers.  The Innopolis Special Economic Zone, created under a 2012 Russian government decree, has been rated the country’s most efficient technology-oriented SEZ for six consecutive years. It is home to leading tech enterprises such as Yandex, Rosatom, and MTS.

During their visit, the Tatarstan delegation also toured the Guangming District Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, a comprehensive center integrating city reception services, technology showcases, co-creation space, planning communication facilities, and an industrial investment platform. 

In an interview with Shenzhen Daily, Dmitry Vandyukov, mayor of Innopolis, expressed strong confidence in the new partnership.

“First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to the leadership of Guangming District for supporting the initiative to sign this memorandum,” Vandyukov said. “We are truly impressed by the district’s achievements and by the projects carried out by the Guangming District Government. That is why we want to continue developing these areas together with our Chinese friends.”

He said cooperation will initially focus on science, ecology, tourism, knowledge and student exchanges, culture, and other areas defined in the MOU. “We will definitely begin practical work now on how we will implement this memorandum together with the mayor's office.”

Vandyukov also praised Guangming’s urban environment. “I'm absolutely delighted; it's a beautiful district, very green, very well-maintained. We're truly pleasantly surprised and delighted by what you're doing here,” he said.