THE Davao City government and a city in Japan are committed to pursuing a sisterhood agreement between two cities.
In a press release from the Davao City Investment Promotion Center (DCIPC), Davao City Mayor Sebastian Duterte and Sennan City Mayor Yamamoto Yuma signed a Memorandum of Intent (MOI) signifying their commitment to pursue the sisterhood agreement between two cities. on November 29.
According to DCIPC, the MOI signing was done during the courtesy visit of Yamamoto to Duterte.
The Sennan mayor was in Davao City from November 28 to 30 together with a 10-man delegation from Sennan and Osaka Prefecture.
"In order to promote friendship and understanding, Davao City of the Republic of the Philippines and Senna City, Japan, recognize the need to jointly work on the basis of equality and mutual benefits," the MOI states.
In addition, "Subject to authorization of the Davao City Council in so far as Davao City is concerned, both parties shall actively carry out exchanges and cooperation in the fields of economy, trade, tourism, health, sports, and culture."
The two mayors, during the visit, discussed possible collaborations in the areas of education, investment and tourism, smart city, and people-to-people cooperation.
Both mayors also expressed their desire of having a direct flight from Davao to Osaka in the near future.
For their two-day official itinerary, the Sennan delegation composed of city officials, prefecture representatives, and entrepreneurs met with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce in Mindanao, the Consulate General of Japan in Davao, and visited some local Japanese businesses. They also visited the Davao City Council while in session, where they were formally recognized.
The sisterhood agreement between Davao and Sennan was approved by the Davao City International Relations Board last November 15, 2022 and is now being processed for the City Council to pass a resolution to authorize Mayor Duterte to sign the agreement.
Aside from Sennan, other cities are also looking into pursuing a sisterhood partnership with Davao City to further advance trading relations, economic growth, and other bilateral exchanges.
These are Mati City in Davao Oriental, Herzliya in Israel, and Pohang City in Republic of Korea.
Sennan City in Osaka is Davao’s second sister city from Japan, after Kitakyushu which will hopefully usher in people-to-people exchange in the field of education and student exchange programs, job provision, as well as research and development.
Herzliya, the largest and most innovative marina in the Middle East is pinpointed to drive agri-economy and trade relations with Davao via its thriving industrial zone and high-tech companies, including tourism.
As the center of the Korean steel industry, Pohang City is much anticipated by Davao for its various linkages in the academe and to power Davao’s future start-up/business incubation efforts particularly in research, science, and technology.
The IRB, composed of different government offices and private organizations in the city, is the body tasked to deliberate and act on sister-city proposals. The board is closely coordinating with DCIPC which serves as the secretariat. RGL