HAIKOU /China/, November 15. /TASS/. The Chinese city of Qionghai in the southern province of Hainan and the Belarusian city of Ostrovets have signed a memorandum of intent to establish sister-city relations. This is reported by the Hainan Daily newspaper.
The respective document was signed on November 9 at the opening of the World Food and Beverage Forum 2022 in Qionghai City. Since a delegation from Grodno Region, where Ostrovets is located, visited Qionghai in 2019, the two cities have constantly maintained friendly relations, the newspaper notes. The signed memorandum was the result of the development of these relations over the past few years, as well as the beginning of a new round of closer cooperation between the cities, Hainan Daily writes.
The signing of an official agreement on the establishment of sister-city relations between Tsyunkhai and Ostrovets is scheduled for next year. This will increase cooperation and friendly relations in such areas as medicine, tourism, culture, education and economy, the newspaper writes.
In August, sister-city relations were established between Haikou, the administrative center of Hainan province, and Grodno, Belarus, and in December 2020 a similar agreement was signed between Hainan province and Grodno region. According to official data, cities in Hainan have established sister-city relations with more than 60 localities and other administrative units abroad.