China, Punjab govt sign letters of intent to establish sister cities

BEIJING: China and Punjab province signed Letters of Intent (LoI) to establish sister-city relations between Sahiwal and Wuzhong as well as Bahawalpur and Zhongwei to strengthen the bond of friendship between China and Pakistan.

Zhou Yihe Deputy Mayor of Wuzhong City and Kang Jun Jie Deputy Mayor of Zhongwei represented their cities in the signing ceremony.

S.M. Tanvir, Minister of Agriculture and Industrial Development, Government of Punjab signed the two agreements from the Pakistani side, according Pakistan Embassy Beijing.

The signing of letters of intent for friendly cooperation between the two sides was held during Chief Minister of Punjab, Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi, visit to Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region China, from Sept 18 to 21 to attend the Third Ningxia International Sister Cities Forum and Sixth China-Arab Expo held in Yinchuan, Ningxia.

The chief minister was accompanied by a 15-member delegation comprising provincial ministers and high-ranking officials.

During the visit, the chief minister Punjab met with the provincial leadership of Ningxia and exchanged views on the avenues to enhance cooperation between the two sister provinces, Ningxia and Punjab. Wuzhong is the second most populous city of the region, specializing in diary, smart agriculture, and food processing.

Zhongwei, predominantly a desert city, has been developed as a centre of renewable energy including solar and wind farming, and also as a model base in the region’s drive for oasification in desert areas. The friendship agreements entail cooperation in a range of areas, especially agriculture, education, healthcare, economy and trade, science and technology, and tourism.