State approves ‘twinning’ with Kaliningrad in Russia

the goan I network
PANAJI
The state council of minister, by circulation, has approved the “Twinning arrangement” between the Indian State of Goa and the Kaliningrad Region of Russian Federation for entering into a Sister State relationship between Goa and Kaliningrad Region, as per the approved document by Ministry of External Affairs. 
The twinning agreement has been signed to “further strengthen mutual understanding between parties” and give an impetus to multifaceted cooperation between Goa and Kaliningrad region of the Russian Federation. 
As per the agreement, the two regions shall promote bilateral cooperation and build and develop their relations in the spirit of friendship, trust and mutual respect on the basis of equality, partnership and mutual advantage. 
The two states shall encourage the study of culture, art, literature and language for better understanding between citizens of both regions, to invite the people of the two regions to undertake visits and specifically encourage families or associations in the city to accept the families as guests from the friendly region in order to observe the lifestyle of citizens closely and to identify common interests in the social sphere. 
Other exchanges in the fields of health, education, culture between the regions and among the NGOs of the regions, etc are also part of the agreement. 
In March 2016, the state cabinet headed by then Chief Minister Laxmikant Parsekar had given its assent to the signing of a similar agreement with Hawaii in the USA.