Shanghai seeks cooperation with Mumbai in IT, tourism

IT and tourism are the major areas in which Shanghai can cooperate with its sister city Mumbai and China is keen to jointly hold activities in the two financial capitals to forge a bond between the two countries, officials said.

"Among the areas of co-operation, I think Information Technology and tourism are the major sectors in which we both can work together. And, since they have been declared as sister cities, we will soon plan to do something together to boost the cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries," Vice-Director, All China Youth Federation (Shanghai), Zhao Guo Qiang told PTI .

During Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to India earlier this year, a bilateral agreement was signed to make the two metropolitan cities, Shanghai and Mumbai, as sister cities.

An agreement was also signed in Gujarat during that time to make Ahmedabad, a sister city of Guangzhou, a leading commercial centre in China.

"Shanghai and Mumbai are similar in many ways. Both are financial and business capitals of their respective country and both are favourites among the tourists. And after becoming sister cities, the ties between the two will only deepen," Zhao said.

He said, besides, business and economic ties, it is the people-to-people and cultural ties through engaging the youth of the two countries, especially of the two mega cities that a "good bond of friendship" can be forged. Zhao, recently hosted the Indian Youth Delegation to China in Shanghai and said that through such cultural exchange of youth, "the understanding among the youth of their counterpart can be promoted, which translates into better understanding of that country too."

"I only hope that such exchange programmes and making of Shanghai-Mumbai as sister cities would only open up new venues and avenues for bilateral co-operation between the two cities, in particular and the two countries in general," he said. "Becoming sister cities would mean expediting joint projects between the two sides, and their faster execution," Joint Secretary (Youth Affairs), Ministry of Youth Affairs, Lailt Kumar Gupta, who accompanied the delegation in Shanghai, said.

Gupta also held talks with Zhao here over areas where the two cities could cooperate.