Tuesday, September 04, 2007 City inks sisterhood pact with China city By Grace L. Plata
The City Government of Davao signed a sisterhood agreement with the City of Nanning of the People's Republic of China (PRC) for cultural and economic exchange on Monday, at the Marco Polo Hotel Davao.
This is the second sisterhood agreement entered into by the city within this year. The first was with the state of Koror in Palau during the celebration of the "Araw ng Dabaw" last March 16.
The Nanning delegation was headed by Mayor Chen Xiangqun who said he is looking forward to a fruitful partnership.
Davao Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, in an interview, said investments are expected to pour in as a result of the friendship pact.
"China has the money and can afford to establish new businesses here," Duterte said.
According to City Administrator Wendel Avisado, Nanning as a Special Economic Zone will open up doors for Davao to expand its network. It is also the only city the whole of PRC that is allowed by its government to hold a yearly international trade fair and exhibit facilitating exchange in the Asean.
According to Councilor Rachel Zozobrado, chairman of the City Council committee on international relations, who provided the back group of the Davao-Nanning pact, the pact with Nanning materialized through the help of Philippine Consul to China Erlinda Gavino.
It was Gavino who suggested the sisterhood with Nanning after the efforts to partner with major cities like Beijing and Shanghai were declined. This is because the Chinese cities were too big a match for Davao in terms of population and growth rate.
It was in August 2005 that Gavino found for Davao City its perfect match.
Duterte, in September 2005 sent a letter of intent to forge a pact thus Nanning City, mirroring the interest of Davao sent an advance team in May 7, 2006 with a draft of the pact.
With members of the City Government and business sectors, the pact was finally signed Monday after almost three years in the making.
