Visiting the Republic of Tatarstan for a state visit, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer, was hosted yesterday by Tatarstan President Rüstem Minnihanov in Kazan. Bilateral discussions resulted with decision to pursue cooperation in numerous areas between Tatarstan and İzmir. Within the scope of the cooperation, Tatarstan days will be organized in İzmir and İzmir days will be organized in Tatarstan.

Thanking Tunç Soyer for his visit to Tatarstan, President Minnihanov stated that he is sure that commercial relations between Tatarstan and Turkey will be reinforced so as to enable new joint projects with İzmir, including commercial relations. Mayor Soyer expressed that they will work together for cooperation between Kazan Expo and İZFAŞ, and especially in areas such as tourism, ­cooperatives, agriculture and entrepreneurship.

İzmir Metropolitan Municipality delegation then attended the meeting under the chairmanship of Kazan Deputy Mayor Yevgeniya Lodvigova. Lodvigova said, “I am sure that this meeting is the beginning of a road to large projects that await us.”

Also visiting Tatarstan Reconstruction and Development Agency, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality delegation also met Republic of Turkey, Kazan Ambassador İsmet Erikan. They also met Kazan Executive Committee during the meetings in Kazan. Among the participants of the meeting were Kazan Executive Committee Vice Chairman İldar Şakirov, Public Works Committee Chairman Dmitriy Anisimov, Information Technologies and Communication Agency Chairman Rifat Hannanov and Tatarstan Turkey Authorized Representative Aydar Gataullin as well as İzmir Metropolitan Mayor Tunç Soyer, Turkish Republic Kazan Embassy, Vice Consul Murat Taşdemir, İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Council Members Fırat Eroğlu ve Ozan Parlar and bureaucrats of İzmir Metropolitan Municipality.

During his visit to Kazan, Tunç Soyer also inaugurated the exhibition of Tatar painter Raif Tuhvatullin and İzmir resident painter Zeki Serbest, titled “Cultural Bridges”.