Punjab government to kick off "Five Sister Cities" project with China

Punjab government to kick off

ISLAMABAD - In a bid to boost local infrastructure, the Punjab government has decided to initiate the “Five Sister Cities” project with China.

The Local Development Department, in collaboration with Punjab Authorities, has prepared a letter of intent that will be tabled before the provincial cabinet when it meets tomorrow.

The letter of intent proposes the creation of five sister cities under the Year of Friendship Sister Cities 2019 to promote friendly relations between the two countries. ------------------------------

The plan suggests the establishment of friendly relationships between corresponding Chinese and Pakistani cities.

After approval, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be signed between the local governments of Lahore and Xuzhou, the capital of Jiangsu province in China.

Under the agreement, these five cities will called sister cities:

- Faisalabad and Qingdao, - Rawalpindi and Wuhan, - Bahawalpur and Nanjing, - Taxila, and Datong, - Multan and Xain.

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The process is a continuation of the developments of March 2019 when the Chinese cities Urumqi, Puyang, and Xi’an were declared as sister cities to Karachi, Gwadar, and Multan.

The authorities hope that the Sister Cities agreement will help strengthen the people-to-people bond between the two countries and will yield benefits at political, social, cultural, and economic levels.