By Delly Waigeno – EMTV News, Port Moresby
Port Moresby has signed a new sister-city concept with China’s Shenzhen city to enhance multi-faceted collaboration.
National Capital District Governor, Powes Parkop, and the Mayor of Shenzhen City, Xu Qin, signed a Memorandum of Agreement recently in Shenzhen City, China.
Governor Parkop said to enhance this collaboration, Port Moresby will open an office in Shenzhen to promote investment and trade both ways, and Shenzhen likewise, will open an office in Port Moresby.
The signing was witnessed by members of both the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government, and several board members and management of the National Capital District Commission.
It comes after a sister-port agreement was signed in Port Moresby in February this year.
A technical agreement was also signed between both cities.
Underpinning the agreement was the collaboration between private and public companies to invest in the development of Paga Hill and other similar impact projects in Port Moresby, in time for Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) as a new model for Sister-City collaboration.
Governor Parkop said while Port Moresby has Sister-City relationships with a number of other cities in the regions and in the world, he said this agreement is different from the rest, as it will be driven initially by the private sector in the two cities and simultaneously with the public sector.
As part of the agreement, the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Government also offered to build a primary and secondary school in Port Moresby and the Lareva Market at Hohola into a modern market with quality facilities for vendors and patrons alike.
Shenzhen is a Chinese success story on all fronts. It was built in the last 35 years from a small fishing village. It is now a major economic pillar for China, hosting the third largest sea port in the world and having the third biggest GDP in China.
