Bangalore will now have a fourth sister city to share aspects of art, culture and industry with. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s recent visit to China led to the inking of a pact which pairs the IT powerhouse of the country with China’s electronics manufacturing hub Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province.
At present, Bangalore works with San Francisco and Cleveland in the United States and Minsk in Belarus on infrastructure, governance, trade facilitation, research and technology among others. Sister city arrangements are encouraged so that citizens in both cities can exchange ideas and develop their cities as models of growth and sustainability.
Welcoming the move, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) State Council Chairman Soumitra Bhattacharya said dialogue with any country is a good step. “Sister city arrangements are an opportunity for two cities to collaborate with across fields,” he said.
Chengdu has gained a reputation of being the fastest growing city in western China. Sitting at the base of the Himalayas, it is popular as the gateway to Tibet.
While steps to further the sister city agreement are yet to be chalked out, past agreements have resulted in the naming of a square in Bangalore after Minsk and a set of MoUs signed between San Francisco and Bangalore for furthering cultural ties.
Interestingly, Air China’s direct flight between Bangalore and Chengdu was stopped earlier this year.
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