The Regional Governor Zdravko Dimitrov signed an agreement to establish a twinning relationship between Plovdiv Region and Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China. On the Bulgarian side of the meeting were the Deputy Governors Evelina Apostolova, Petar Petrov and Dimitar Kerin, Borislav Dimov, Chief Secretary of Regional Administration – Plovdiv, Assoc. Prof. Svetla Yancheva, Deputy Rector of Agricultural University – Plovdiv, Eng. Plamen Panchev, President of Trakia Economic Zone Cluster, Angel Hristozov, Chairman of the Bulgarian-Chinese Business Development Association, Mr. ZHANG Changqing, Chairman of the China Department of the Bulgarian-Chinese Business Development Association and Kiril Velchev, Deputy Director of Plovdiv 2019 Foundation. The Chinese delegation was led by Mr. LU Jun, Deputy Secretary of Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPC, accompanied by Mr. ZHAO Yongwang, Deputy Director-General of Department of Agriculture of Hainan Province, Mr. XU Jianpeng, Deputy Director-General of Policy Research Office of Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPC, Ms. CHEN Jianjiao, Deputy Director-General of Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province, Mr. MO Zhaoding, Director of General Office of Hainan Provincial Committee of the CPC, Mr. LIU Nan, Deputy Director of Foreign Affairs Office of Hainan Province.
The Regional Governor welcomed the guests to Plovdiv Regional Administration and to the town of Plovdiv. He told them about the history of the city and stated that Plovdiv Region is the fastest growing economic area in Bulgaria. The Regional Governor presented the opportunities which offers the area in the field of tourism, culture, education, agriculture and industry, mentioning the exceptional development in food, beverage and tobacco, metallurgy, machinery and equipment, the IT sector and balneology, as well as the excellent business investment opportunities provided by Trakia Economic Zone. Mr. Zdravko Dimitrov presented to the guests the functions of the Regional Administration, which are related to the role of state and local self-government as the main “promoter” of the public interest for the development of the region with the participation of the local community and the business.
He underlined that Plovdiv Regional Administration was exceedingly active in its cooperation with China in the past years, and one of the most important events in the partnership is the hosting of the 3rd working meeting of the CEEC-China Association of Provincial Governors in the city of Plovdiv which was organized by the administration team and was held from October 18th to October 20th, 2017. This meeting was the first of the regional level meetings of the 16 + 1 Initiative in Europe, which took place in the city of Plovdiv. The Forum included three priority themes: Culture and Tourism, Innovation and Economic Zones and Agriculture, and delegates from Europe and five provinces from China – Hebei, Henan, Shandong, Liaoning, Gansu and the Shenzhen Municipalities and Tianjin. Part of the initiatives that were taken after the meeting was the opening of the Logistics Hub for co-operation in the field of agriculture, and at the invitation of the Governor of Hainan Province and with the support of the Bulgarian embassy in Beijing three talented students from Plovdiv took part in the 18th International Festival in Hainan Province, held in Haikou from 18th to 20th November 2017.
The head of the delegation, Mr. LU Jun, thanked the Regional Governor and the administration for the warm welcoming and did not hide his satisfaction from the opportunity to visit Plovdiv and sign the agreement, which will give a new impetus to the Bulgarian-Chinese relations. He made his admirations for the good development of the region and stressed that the interest of the Hainan Province’s leaders in partnership is serious and lasting.
This is the third delegation that has come to Plovdiv in recent years, which is a sign of the clear desire of the two countries to develop a successful partnership. The huge role of the twinning agreement has been highlighted, which will give a new impetus to creating a strong partnership relationship.
The Executive Director of Plovdiv 2019 Foundation, Kiril Velchev, presented Plovdiv’s projects for hosting the European Capital of Culture in 2019 and asked the guests to organize a cultural delegation from Hainan province to visit Plovdiv for the opening events in January of the following year.
The Deputy Rector of Agricultural University in Plovdiv, Assoc. Prof. Svetla Yancheva, presented the institution of higher education and stressed that close links and intensive contacts have been established over the years with several universities in the Republic of China.
Angel Hristozov, Chairman of the Bulgarian-Chinese Business Development Association, said that a long-term cooperation program will be drawn up. The President of Trakia Economic Zone, Mr. Plamen Panchev, presented the opportunities offered by the Euro-China Economic Development Zone and the newly created e-commerce pavilion for agricultural products.
During the meeting were identified several guidelines for development of the mutual cooperation: to establish a mechanism for regular contacts between the businesses in Plovdiv Region and Hainan Province; to strengthen the cooperation in the field of agriculture, which is one of the main and well-developed industries; to foster exchanges between agri-tech specialists; to stimulate business investments and to extend the links in tourism, education and culture.
The agreement between Plovdiv Region, Republic of Bulgaria and Hainan Province, People’s Republic of China aims to further strengthen and develop friendship and cooperation between the two countries and establish a twinning relationship.
The two signatories agreed to work together and to promote close friendly contacts as well as economic and trade exchanges in the field of agriculture, tourism, education and culture.
Last modified on 24 October, 2018 at 13:47
