China Xi’an City delegation explores sister city opportunities with SL

Pathfinder Foundation Founder Milinda Moragoda welcomes Xi’an Municipal Finance Bureau Deputy Director Kong Hong

A four-member delegation from the Xi’an City Municipality in China is presently on a visit to Sri Lanka on the invitation of the Pathfinder Foundation (PF). The main objective of their visit is to explore the possibility of developing a Sister City Program, initially with Kandy and/or Colombo, for mutually beneficial relations. 

The delegation consists of Wang Xiaozhen, Deputy Director of the Xi’an Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, Kong Hong, Deputy Director of the Xi’an Municipal Finance Bureau, Ma Shaomin, Deputy Director of the Xi’an Municipal Auditing Bureau and Quan Di, staff member of the Xi’an Municipal Foreign Affairs Office. The Visiting delegation officially invited the Mayor of Colombo or Kandy to attend the 2015 Euro-Asia Economic Forum in Xi’an in September. 

The delegation met PF Founder Milinda Moragoda at the organisation’s Peliyagoda office and engaged in discussions about the potential for mutually beneficial cooperation between Xi’an and Colombo or Kandy in the spheres of culture, heritage preservation and tourism. PF Chairman Bernard Goonetilleke, PF Executive Director Luxman Siriwardena and Project Manager Ameera Arooz also participated in the discussion.'

Xi’an City is one of the most prominent cities in China, being the centre of the ancient Silk Road. It is also the birthplace of current President Xi Jinping. The city is internationally renowned for historic sculptures of terracotta warriors which attract millions of tourists every year. Forming a Sister City relationship with a historically important city in Sri Lanka will benefit the local city through cultural and educational exchange, business-to-business relationships and the promotion of Chinese tourism to Sri Lanka.

The PF is a prominent economic think tank in Sri Lanka which has been diversifying its international cooperation by developing links with similar think tanks in India, China, the US and Norway while exploring similar opportunities in other parts of the world. 

As a result of this, the foundation has already initiated Track II dialogue between Sri Lanka and the US, India and Japan while a similar initiative with China is currently in progress. All such initiatives lead to the strengthening of personal relations, cultural and educational programs and mutually beneficial business promotions.