Activity No.15: Faisalabad and Qingdao Sign Letter of Intent to Develop Sister City Ties

On 26 April 2021, Faisalabad and Qingdao signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to develop sister city relationship between the two cities. The signing was performed by Ambassador Moin Ul Haque and Mr. Zhao Haozhi, Mayor of Qingdao. The LOI was signed as a part of festivities to commemorate 70th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Pakistan and China which is being celebrated this year.

The signing ceremony was held during the ‘2021-SCO International Trade and Investment Forum’ held in Qingdao. It was witnessed by Mr. Liu Jiayi, Party Secretary of Shandong CPC Committee, Mr. Le Yu Cheng, the Vice Foreign Minister of China, and Ambassadors and the representatives of many countries attending the event.

Qingdao is one of the most important cities of North China. It is located in Shandong province along the East China Sea. The city has rapidly risen as the hub of regional economics and trade. It is host to many institutions of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and also organized the SCO Summit in 2018. Many local companies of Qingdao are operating in Pakistan in electronics, agriculture and services sectors.

The development of sister-city relationship between Faislabad and Qingdao is aimed to build upon the natural affinities between the two cities and deepen bilateral relations in diverse areas of cooperation. As a major hub of regional economic and trade in their respective regions, the sister city ties seek to further enhance the existing cooperation between Faisalabad and Qingdao and explore more avenues to expand two-way investment, trade, tourism and educational linkages.

2021-04-26