Between the of city hall of Tskhinval and the city hall of the Italian city of Lanusei has been signed an agreement on economic and cultural cooperation, said at the briefing in Tskhinval Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Ossetia David Sanakoev.
According to him, the agreement was signed on January 13, by the Mayor of Tskhinval Alan Alborov and the Mayor of Lanusei David Ferelli.
"In the framework of implementation of the foreign policy course of South Ossetia and the Message of the President to the Parliament and the people of the Republic in the beginning of this year there was a visit of the official delegation of South Ossetia to Italy. During the trip, we met with representatives of the Senate and of the Italian Parliament, authoritative public and political figures of the country. The agreement on cultural and economic cooperation between the city halls of Tskhinval and Lanusei was signed on the island of Sardinia, "- said the RSO Foreign Minister.
In the near future, according to him, is expected the visit of political figures and businessmen from Italy to South Ossetia," to start the implementation of the agreement."
According to the of Mayor Tskhinval Alan Alborov, the colleagues from Lanusei are ready to share with the authorities of the South Ossetian capital the experience in the administrative sphere, technology in the field of energy conservation, woodworking, tourism development.
"We intend to use their experience in the development of municipal services of Tskhinval," - said Alborov.
In Italy the delegation of South Ossetia met with the heads of other cities, they reached "mutual understanding, laid the foundations of further cooperation."
According to the Foreign Minister, preparation of the agreement lasted for several months; much has been done to create a positive image of South Ossetia, not only in Italy but also in other European countries.
"This work is actively opposed by the Georgian Foreign Ministry. Despite this much work has been done. Comparatively recently in Italy knew very little about South Ossetia, or knew from the words of the representatives of Georgia. Now the situation has changed, established contacts with many public and political figures in Italy, we were well received in the Parliament of Italy", - said Sanakoev.
In this work great assistance to South Ossetia is rendered by the Italian NGO "Association of Friends of South Ossetia," the Russian Foreign Ministry and the Russian political associations.
Referring to the reaction of the leadership of Italy and the Republic of San Marino, to which South Ossetia and Abkhazia last year applied to recognize the independence of the republics , Sanakoev has noted that the response has not yet been received , but the application is taken into consideration by the relevant authorities of these countries.
