Mayor Itthiphol Kunplome
presents the ceremonial key to the city to Hubei, China Deputy Mayor
Shao Weimin.
Urasin Khantaraphan
The deputy mayor of China’s city of Hubei visited Pattaya to
sign a sister-city relationship, aiming to facilitate cooperation in
finance, trade, science, culture and education.
Shao Weimin signed the agreement Oct. 24 with Pattaya Mayor Itthiphol
Kunplome to improve Thailand and Pattaya’s international relations. The
Wuhan province official was accompanied by a half dozen of Wuhan’s
government leaders responsible for commerce, international trade and
international affairs.
Shao and his entourage discussed various matters with Pattaya’s
administrators during their Oct. 22-24 visit.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had informed Pattaya officials in
advance that Wuhan province has considerable importance, ranking fourth
among mid-sized provinces with gross domestic product of up to $329
billion.
Currently, many countries have built large consulates in Wuhan,
including the U.S., South Korea, France and the UK. Wuhan and Thailand
have collaborated on projects before and HRH Princess Sirindhorn has
visited Wuhan many times. Currently there are five flights a day from
Thailand to Wuhan. In 2013, 150,000 Wuhan residents traveled to
Thailand.
Kunplome detailed for the Hubei deputy mayor Pattaya’s role as a tourism
center and discussed ways to strengthen financial ties for continuous
development.
