Press Releases

Ambassador Burns Visits St. Petersburg

May 23, 2007

Ambassador William J. Burns visited St. Petersburg on May 21st and 22nd. The Ambassador met with Governor Valentina Matviyenko to discuss regional development as well as opportunities for bilateral trade and investment and encouraging greater ties between the United States and St. Petersburg.

Ambassador Burns delivered the keynote address at the Opening Session of the First St. Petersburg Annual Forum on Global Health. The forum was organized by St. Petersburg State University's School of Public Health in conjunction with the Center for Strategic and International Relations and, among others, the Duke University Global Health Institute and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The aim of the Forum is to create an international platform that advances the dialogue on emerging national and international health challenges with a focus on strengthening U.S. - Russia partnerships in global health.

The Ambassador highlighted investment opportunities and regional development at a conference with senior officials at the St. Petersburg State University's School of Management. The School of Management, established in 1993, is the result of a St. Petersburg State's partnership with the Haas School of Business and University of California at Berkeley. The Ambassador's visit also included a meeting with the Executive Committee of the American Chamber of Commerce in St. Petersburg and a roundtable with representatives of St. Petersburg's civil society.

In honor of the 200th Anniversary of U.S.- Russia diplomatic relations, the Ambassador co-hosted a celebration with State Hermitage Museum Director Mikhail Piotrovskiy. The bicentennial offers an opportunity to reflect on the significance of ties between Americans and Russians, and the event at the Hermitage was attended by Cosmonaut Aleksey Leonov, the Russian Commander for the historic Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.