Labuan to twin with Xianning
Published on: Tuesday, April 04, 2017
Labuan: The Federal Territory of Labuan and the newly-emerging city of Xianning in China located in the vast Hubei province, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), paving the way for the two cities to be twinned.Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli, who also Chairman of Labuan Corporation (LC), who signed on behalf of Labuan at a simple ceremony in Kuala Lumpur last week said: "The MoU marks an important milestone for Labuan as the twinning would open up new opportunities with new areas for co-operation between the two local authorities in various areas."The Mayor of Xianning, Wang Yuan Hee signed on behalf of his city. Also present to witness the event was the Mayor from Chibi Li Chao Shu and the Mayor from Xianan Sheng Wen Jun - both these Mayors are from the two cities in the same province. Also present was Xianning's Foreign Affairs representative Liang Ye Wee.ADVERTISEMENT On Xianning, Rozman said the city has a population of three million "and though Labuan's population is only about 100,000, we have different strengths and working closely, we could tap the potentials and benefits from the twinning arrangement."He noted that the immediate areas of co-operation could be in the education, financial and tourism sectors. He explained that Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) Labuan International Campus had been taking in students from China for years and the enrolment could be increased through the new pact. He said investors from Xianning could also make use of the many financial services and products offered by IBFC in Labuan.ADVERTISEMENT Rozman also said the capital of Hubei was Wuhan and the city was well connected in airlines with many Asian destinations and chartered flights to Labuan could be worked upon."While Xianning was prefecture level city which had won the credible city award for six consecutive year, Labuan on the other was a sustainable, smart city which in 2014 had the highest GDP per capita in Malaysia and the highest GDP growth supported by the oil and gas hub as well as the financial sector.
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He said he was fully supportive of the MoU and would submit it to the FT Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Mansor to seek the Cabinet's approval."I am keen to see the arrangements go through smoothly."Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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Others present at the function were CEO of LC, Azhar Othman, Datuk Bashir Alias, Chairman of Advisory Council of LC, Political Secretary of FT Minister, Datuk Paduka Mohd Raffi Alli Hassan and Latif Ali, the Undersecretary (Development/ Management) of the FT Ministry.The Chinese delegation also visited Labuan and was feted by the Labuan Chinese Chamber of Commerce. - Sohan Das