CHINA’S Shandong and Solomon Islands Isabel Provinces have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to a forge a sister relationship between the two provinces.
Solomon Islands Minister for Provincial Government and Institutional Strengthening, Hon. Wayne Gemu and Shandong Province’s Deputy Governor Zeng Zanrong signed the MOU in the presence of Prime Minister Jeremiah Manele and the Governor of Shandong Province Zhou Naixiang including senior officials from both sides.
Shandong a leading province in terms of agriculture with a remarkable GDP of $1.57 trillion ranking it at the 13th place among other cities in China.
Prime Minister Manele acknowledged Shandong province’s successful high-tech agricultural development, noting that Isabel province is keen to learn from the success of Shandong in high-tech agriculture with view of shifting from subsistence to modernized agriculture systems.
Shandong province is also offering scholarships for students from Isabel province to study in Shandong. Details of the scheme will be pursued by officials from parties to work together on the schemes roll-out programme.
Manele highlighted that sub- national relations is important as far as people to people connections is concern, and further to that, within that framework other areas of common interests can be pursued such as fisheries, tourism, agriculture amongst others.
He pledged his government’s support to ensure the process to achieve sister relationship status with Shandong Province will come to fruition as soon as possible.
The intention of the Solomon Islands Government is to ensure all the nine Provinces in Solomon Islands have sister relationships with Provinces in China, adding that it is a commitment that his government will continue to pursue.
