Gandaki Province and Hainan Province of China have established sister relations to exchange bilateral co-operation in education, tourism, energy among other sectors.

Representatives of both the sides signed a seven-point agreement at an event held in Pokhara, the provincial capital of Gandaki, on Friday. Social Development Minister Nara Devi Pun and Xu Jun, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Hainan Provincial People’s Congress, signed the agreement.

Nepal and China agreed to develop and promote tourism, trade, energy, culture and technical and vocational education sectors in Gandaki and Hainan. As per the agreement, Hainan Vocational and Technical College will provide full scholarship to 20 Nepali students. During the recent visit of Chief Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung in China, the college had verbally agreed for the scholarship. 

Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Development Minister spokesperson of the provincial executive Ram Sharan Basnet said, “Though provision of scholarship has been a major achievement for time being, both Gandaki and Hainan will benefit by the sister relations.”

Similarly, Pokhara and Haikou, the capital of Hainan, also established sister-city relations the same day. Deputy Mayor of Pokhara Metropolis Manju Devi Gurung and Deputy Chief of Haikou Fang Zhongli signed the agreement.