HAIKOU, July 25./TASS/. The southern Chinese Hainan Province and the Grodno Region of Belarus have agreed to establish sister city relations. The relevant agreement of intent, according to the Hainan Daily newspaper, was signed between the cities in the administrative center (Haikou) on July 23.

The agreement is aimed at establishing closer ties between the two regions in order to promote friendly contacts, as well as enhance cooperation in the trade and economic sphere. Sister relations, the newspaper writes, will not only strengthen strategic interaction as a whole, but also increase cooperation in areas such as tourism, science, technology, innovation, culture, education, and others. Appropriate agreements will also contribute to the promotion of friendship between the peoples of China and Belarus.

According to the newspaper, the governments of the two regions will contribute to the Chinese Belt and Road initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union by intensifying cooperation.

Grodno Region is located in Belarus's west and covers an area of ​​25,000 square kilometers with the population of about 1.04 million people. This area, as the news outlet notes, is well-developed in trade, agriculture, health and tourism.

The vice-chairman of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee Viktor Liskovich, praised the level of development of medicine and tourism in Hainan and expressed confidence that there are quite a lot of projects in the province worth investing in. He emphasized the need for the earliest possible launch of direct flights between the Chinese province and Grodno Region to boost further cooperation.