U.S.-RFE Municipal Partnerships

Alaskan and Washington cities have a long history of partnership with cities in the Russian Far East through various municipal programs and initiatives. The Municipal Partnership Program seeks to build lasting, mutually beneficial city-to-city partnerships between municipalities in the Russian Far East and the United States that will bring new technologies and best management practices to transform local self-governance in the Russian Far East.

University Place Mayor Linda Bird (on the left) and Slavyanka delegates exchange letters

of cooperation under University Place – Slavyanka Urban Settlement Partnership, July 2008

City-to-city partnership developed through the Municipal Partnership Program may include the following program elements:

Delegation Exchanges: Russian participants, including local government officials, community and/or business leaders travel to their U.S. partner municipality to learn about the priority area identified by the partners. In return, the U.S. representatives with the most relevant experience travel to the Russian municipality.
Partnership Projects: Each U.S.-RFE partnership will have the opportunity to implement a socio-economic development project. These projects will be mutually beneficial, promote local self governance in the Russian Far East, and will further strengthen relations between the partner municipalities.
Disseminating Best Practices in Municipal Partnerships: The experiences and best practices developed will be disseminated broadly in the Russian Far East and the states of Alaska and Washington.