Twinning document is signed by Hubei Province delegation
The delegation from Hubei Province in the People’s Republic of China signed a memorandum of understanding with Wexford County Council with a view to forging a formal twinning arrangement.
The signing took place during the first official visit to Wexford by representatives from Hubei who were accompanied by the Chinese Ambassador to Ireland, Dr Yue Xiaoyong, who hails from the province and who paid advance visits to the county earlier this year.
The Chinese visitors met council CEO Tom Enright and County Council chairman John Hegarty as well as other officials and staff of the local authority in a private business meeting hosted by the chairman which included a presentation by Deputy Chief Executive Tony Larkin on the County Council’s ambitious Economic and Community Investment Programme 2018-2022, followed by a question and answer session.
The memorandum of understanding signed by the two parties commits Wexford and Hubei Province to a two-year relationship exploring opportunities between the two areas with a view to a formal twinning in the future. The head of the delegation was presented with a Pikeman.
The group had lunch at Kelly’s Hotel, which was hosted by the deputy mayor of Wexford Cllr Ger Carthy, and were welcomed to the hotel by Bill and Laura Kelly.
The Hubei Province delegation included Wang Jianming, deputy director of the Standing Committee of Hubei Provincial People’s Congress; Wang Yuxiang, deputy director general of Hubei Provincial Development and Reform Commission; Hu Yinghai, deputy director general of Hubei Provincial Foreign Affairs Office; Cao Hejia, deputy director of the Standing Committee of Huangshi Municipal People’s Congress; Hu Yu, deputy division director of the General Office of the Standing Committee of Huebi Provincial People’s Congress, and Feng Jia, English interpreter of Hubei Provincial Foreign Affairs Office.
They were accompanied by the Ambassador and by political Counsellor Yang Hua, Barry Wei and Yang Jua, deputy chief of Commission.
Hubei is located in the region of Central China. The name means ‘north of the lake’ referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The capital is Wuhan, site of picturesque East Lake, the five-tiered Yellow Crane Tower and the vast Hubei Privincial Museum.
MEANWHILE, a separate Chinese delegation, from the Yuyao Committee of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference of Ningbo City in the Zhejiang Province, visited Wexford a few days later as part of a wider trip to Britain and Ireland. The group met Cllr John Hegarty and senior management of Wexford County Council to hear about Wexford and the sough-east region and were presented with a gift of strawberries and other local produce.