Kota Kinabalu: City Hall achieved another milestone when it formally established relations with the Wuhan City Municipal Government in Wuhan, China last week.Mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir and Vice Mayor of Wuhan, Lu Shaye, signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Establishment of Friendly and Cooperative Relationship between City of Kota Kinabalu and City of Wuhan on May 20. The historical occasion was witnessed by State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, his Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming, Sabah Tourism Board (STB) General Manager Datuk Irene Benggon Charuruks, Institute for Development Studies (IDS) Sabah Chairman Datuk Seri Clarence Bongkos Malakun, senior officials from the Wuhan Municipal Government and delegation members from Kota Kinabalu.
ADVERTISEMENT
By entering into the agreement, the cities of Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan agreed to enhance mutual exchange and friendly cooperation to promote the exchange of knowledge and experiences and cooperation in the field of economy, trade, culture, tourism, education, sports and others.Both parties also agreed to develop contacts and communication among organisations and communities of youth, women and labour between the two cities, as well as personnel exchanges.
In his address, Madingkir thanked the Wuhan Municipal Government, especially Mayor Wan Yong, who was represented by Vice Mayor, Lu Shaye, for inviting him and the Kota Kinabalu delegation to their city. He also thanked his counterpart for initiating the friendly and cooperative relations between Kota Kinabalu and Wuhan, through the visit by Deputy Mayor, Zhang Xue Mang, who visited him in Kota Kinabalu in January this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
Madingkir said he is confident that it would improve bilateral ties between the two cities and be another opportunity to promote exchanges especially in the field of tourism and culture that would benefit both cities.In his introduction of Kota Kinabalu, among others, he told the Wuhan officials that although the population of Kota Kinabalu is not big with only some half a million population, the eco-tourism of Kota Kinabalu is indeed very strong, as the city is situated near the sea.
ADVERTISEMENT
Most importantly, Madingkir said the people of Kota Kinabalu are very friendly, with most of them able to speak in Chinese, and that it is famous for its good seafood.According to him, the materialisation of the MoU between the city of Wuhan and Kota Kinabalu would benefit both parties especially in the areas of tourism, culture and education.Madingkir concluded his introduction by inviting the people of Wuhan to visit Kota Kinabalu.In reply, Lu Shaye said from Madingkir's introduction, it leaves them an impression that Kota Kinabalu is a beautiful city with strong tourism, ecology and good food. Kota Kinabalu, according to him, it is a city that they are eager to visit as it is a famous tourism destination. According to Lu, Malaysia is a 'hot' destination for the Chinese people being ranked eighth by Wuhan, in terms of its outbound tourism.Lu said the difference in the populations of both cities, Wuhan with 11 million people and Kota Kinabalu with half a million people, is indeed an attraction for both cities. He said Wuhan is an industrial city with its auto industry playing a very important part. The auto industry, according to him, is capable to produce one million vehicles per year and targets to improve its production to three million in five years. The other pillar industries of Wuhan, he explained, are iron and steel, energy, chemical and manufacturing.Wuhan is the capital of Hubei Province and is the most populous city in Central China. It is situated in the eastern Jianghan Plain at the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers. Arising out of the conglomeration of three cities, Wuchang, Hankou and Hanyang, Wuhan is a major transportation hub, with dozens of railways, roads and expressways passing through the city.Meanwhile, on the same day, the Kota Kinabalu delegation headed by Masidi also witnessed the Charter Flights Memorandum of Understanding Signing Ceremony between:1. Hunan Hua Tian International Travel Services and Airworld Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd; 2. Nanjing Wanxiang International Travel Services Agency Co. Ltd and Airworld Travel and Tours Sdn Bhd; and3. Chengdu Merchant International Travel Services and Times Holidays Travel & Tours Sdn Bhd.The four-day working visit by Madingkir also saw the signing of the MoU between two universities.
Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Assistant Minister Datuk Pang Nyuk Ming witnessed the signing of MoU between the Sabah Institute of Arts by its CEO, Professor Dato' Dr Wilson Yong, and the China Normal University Faculty of Art China.Also signed was a MoU between a Sabah-based company, Borneo Teakwood Sdn Bhd General Manager Ceasar Mandela Malakun and a construction company in Wuhan on possible leisure, commercial and industrial development projects in Sabah.
