Cuban province, Chinese municipality twinned

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-12-24 16:02

HAVANA -- A protocol was signed here Tuesday on twinning arrangement of the Cuban province of Pinar del Rio and Chinese municipality of Chongqing, Cuban media reported.

The protocol, expected to boost bilateral cooperation in the fields of health care, education, sports, scientific research and agriculture, was signed during the visit of Wang Xiaoxun, vice chairman of Chongqing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, reports said.

Wang told the press that there were meaningful similarities between the Chinese municipality and the Cuban province regarding their agrarian roots and the efforts in industrialization.

"We wish to enhance mutual cooperation in many sectors," Wang said.

Wang said that one of the cooperation projects between the two areas could be to create a Cuba-China hospital in Chongqing, so Chinese people could "enjoy the goodness of the Cuban medical services."

Chongqing, an important industrial and commercial hub in China, has a population of over 30 million, while Pinar del Rio, famous for tobacco and medical service, has a population of some 731,000.