On January 23-24, Ambassador William Burns traveled to Nizhniy Novgorod, where he met with Russian officials, journalists, students, educators, businessmen and alumni of U.S. exchange programs. During his visit, Ambassador Burns held a discussion with students at Nizhniy Novgorod State University and met with the University Rector and the Vice-Rector for International Relations. The Ambassador also held separate discussions with Alexander Konovalov, the Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Volga Federal District, and Vadim Bulavinov, the Mayor of Nizhniy Novgorod. The CEO of the Lear factory (a supplier of GM-AvtoVAZ), Roeland van Gestel, gave the Ambassador a tour of the company's production site. The Ambassador also toured the American Center in Nizhniy Novgorod, where he met with the Director and a number of U.S. exchange program alumni. He also held a roundtable discussion with a number of representatives of local and regional media based in Nizhniy Novgorod.