New Sister City for Rockhampton

Published on 25 September 2018

Friendship City Agreement with Zhenjiang, November 2016

Rockhampton Regional Council will send a delegation to China in November for the signing of the region’s Sister City Agreement with Zhenjiang.

“Relationships aren’t built overnight, and I pay tribute to Advance Rockhampton who have been working hard behind the scenes to take our 'friendship' to the next level,” Mayor Strelow said.

“We signed the Friendship City Agreement with Zhenjiang back in November 2016, so this next step cements that connection and opens the door to more economic and trade opportunities.

“This agreement with Zhenjiang, and with other Chinese provinces, is a clear signal that Rockhampton is open for business, we have opportunities here and we want to drive them forward for the benefit of both regions,” Mayor Strelow said.

Areas for collaboration include economic development, education, tourism, agriculture, culture, environment, sports and the arts. Since the original signing of the friendship agreement there have been a number of exploratory exchanges between the two cities.            

“In the past 12 months alone, a Rockhampton delegation has attended Zhenjiang’s Low Carbon Conference and met with their Art Department and Education Bureau to discuss exchange programs. We’ve also seen a delegation sign an agreement with the Rockhampton Art Gallery for Art Cooperation which could soon lead to two Rockhampton based artists visiting Zhenjiang next year, and a number of discussions have been held about potential sister school arrangements.

“At today’s Council meeting, Councillors also voted to extend the visit to include the Chinese International Import Expo in Shanghai in November.

“This is another opportunity to strengthen ties and promote our region’s capabilities in agribusiness, international education, and infrastructure and services sectors to meet growing demand from China.

“More than 100 countries and regions will take part in this Expo providing an excellent opportunity for Advance Rockhampton to generate interest and contacts for investment in those key focus industries,” Mayor Strelow said.