BEIRUT, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Russian Ambassador to Lebanon Alexander Rudakov announced on Friday the launching of a twinning program between Krasnogorsk, a city in Moscow, and Baalbek city in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa valley, the National News Agency reported.
The program aims to promote cultural and commercial ties between the two cities, according to the ambassador who visited Baalbek along with a delegation from the embassy, and met Baalbek Governor Bachir Khodr.
"I want to take this opportunity to strengthen cooperation between the city of Baalbek and any of the Russian cities," Rudacov said, reiterating Russia's readiness to provide Lebanon with economic and political support.
For his part, Khodr said that the historic ties has been existed between Baalbek's citizens and Russian people, while expressing appreciation to the Russian embassy for increasing the number of scholarships offered to Lebanese students amid the current tough circumstances in the country. Enditem