Tuesday November 22, 2011

Penang-Kanagawa twin city ties renewed to mark 20th anniversary

PENANG and Japan’s Kanagawa Prefecture have signed a joint-declaration to strengthen bilateral ties.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and Kanagawa Prefecture Governor His Excellency Yuji Kuroiwa signed the declaration for furtherance of common prosperity.

Kanagawa, together with Medan (Indonesia), Xiamen (China) and Adelaide (Australia) are twin cities with George Town.

The signing marked a renewal of a similar pledge signed on Oct 3, 1991, for the development of goodwill exchanges and close friendly ties between the two governments.

“On the 20th anniversary of this joint declaration, we renew our determination to further strengthen bilateral ties in economic development, environmental sustainability, administration and science and technology.

“We hope to learn about heritage conservation from the Penang Government after George Town was listed as a Unesco World Heritage site,” Kuroiwa told a press conference in Komtar yesterday.

He said during Lim’s visit to the prefecture in July, such collaborations were discussed.

Kuroiwa, who led a four-member delegation, later toured the heritage enclave.

Praising the prefecture’s financial expertise and economic development, Lim said the visit was a very important milestone for bilateral relations between the two governments.

He said Kanagawa ranked among the most important regions in Japan, contributing 6.1% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) last year.

The prefecture was ranked fourth after Tokyo, Osaka and Aichi in terms of contribution to Japan’s economy.