The inaugural meeting of the Sochi Dialogue Forum
On May 15, the inaugural meeting of the Russian-Austrian civil society forum "Sochi Dialogue" was held in Sochi. The meeting was attended by the Presidents of Russia and Austria, Vladimir Putin and Alexander van der Bellen.
Opening the meeting, the Russian President stressed that the Sochi Dialogue has an important mission - to promote the development of direct contacts between civil societies and professional associations of the two countries in the field of culture, education, science, sports and other components of the extensive humanitarian dossier.
The next session of the Sochi Dialogue will be held within the framework of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.
"Next year, the Sochi Forum will be held in Salzburg, Austria, and will be timed to coincide with the centenary of the famous Salzburg Music Festival," Vladimir Putin said.
Addressing the participants of the meeting, Austrian President Alexander van der Bellen noted that, in his opinion, it was the best time to start a bilateral project of that kind.
As a result of the meeting, such decisions were made as holding youth exchanges through the European Youth Forum EYFON in Styria, joint sports events and exchanges for young athletes, mutual invitation of young talented performers in the framework of cultural events. The event schedule for 2019 was also agreed upon.
On the evening of May 15, a musical evening of Russia and Austria was held in the Sirius Science and Art Park. The program included performances by soloists of the St. Petersburg House of Music, Anton Bruckner Private University, accompanied by the Sochi Symphony Orchestra. The concert was organized under the patronage of the artistic director of the St. Petersburg House of Music Sergey Roldugin. The agreement on the establishment of the Russian-Austrian civil society forum "Sochi Dialogue" was reached in 2018 at the meeting of the heads of the two countries in Vienna. On March 12, 2019, during a working meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Austrian Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Karin Kneissl, a joint ministerial declaration on the establishment of the Russian-Austrian Civil Society Forum "Sochi Dialogue" was signed in Moscow.
The forum is co-chaired by Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Andrey Fursenko and President of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry Christoph Leitl.
