INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE OF MAYORS TO BE HELD IN MOSCOW

Unofficial translation from Russian

PRESS RELEASE

The Third International Conference of Mayors will take place in Moscow on September 16-17, this year.

This important global forum is being held in the mainstream of the development of the idea of city diplomacy, whose aim is to identify and analyze the trends of megapolises in the 21st century and to determine their role in solving the international problems of the contemporary world and developing cultural and economic cooperation.

The first constituent Conference took place in Paris in March 2000. At the second Conference in September 2002, held in the Greek capital, the Charter of Athens for the Diplomacy of Cities and the Athens Declaration of Olympic Solidarity were signed. Also then, the functions of the chairman of the Conference were handed over to Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov.

In the course of the upcoming Conference it is planned to discuss three themes: the role and tasks of the world's cities in the 21st century; the interaction of youth as a factor of strengthening peace and trust between city residents; and sport as a means for pursuing the city diplomacy line. The mayors of more than 100 cities of the world and leaders of a number of international organizations are invited to attend the Conference.

Additional information on the Conference is placed on the web site of Moscow: www.mos.ru.