Several countries, including from Africa's south, have requested to open consulates in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, and their petitions are currently being reviewed, Vladimir Zapevalov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's representative in St. Petersburg, told Sputnik
ST. PETERSBURG (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th February, 2020) Several countries, including from Africa's south, have requested to open consulates in the Russian city of St. Petersburg, and their petitions are currently being reviewed, Vladimir Zapevalov, the Russian Foreign Ministry's representative in St. Petersburg, told Sputnik.
"St. Petersburg is often called the consular capital of Russia, we expect that several consulates will be opened in the near future. It includes honorary consuls as well. There are requests from several countries, for example, including from southern Africa, but they are still being reviewed, therefore it is too early to name any of them in particular," Zapevalov said.
St. Petersburg currently hosts 33 general consulates, 30 honorary consuls and three missions of international organizations. Zapevalov told Sputnik that the three pillars of consular affairs were culture, tourism and education, and that he and his foreign colleagues shared the belief that global political turbulence should be left out.
"In my conversations with consuls general, I always highlight that their main tasks are to protect the interests of their citizens on Russian territory and to pave ways for economic cooperation and humanitarian ties. Political issues we should leave for our capitals to settle. In general, our colleagues share this position," Zapevalov said.
In addition to hosting foreign consular missions to Russia, St. Petersburg is also active in developing ties with foreign countries on its own behalf, a practice known as paradiplomacy. According to the diplomat, the city's cooperation with Finland, Estonia, Latvia, China and Belarus was especially dynamic.
St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city, is located in the country's northwest at the head of the Gulf of Finland and has a population of approximately 5.38 million people.
