/ world today news/ Recently, a Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Bulgarian municipality of Vratsa and the Chinese Mianyan, and on this occasion we are talking to KMG with the mayor of Vratsa, Kalin Kamenov. He is already the third-term mayor of the city of Vratsa, having been re-elected to the post during the last local elections about a month ago. Before that, he was deputy minister of youth and sports in two Bulgarian governments.
In our conversation for KMG, the mayor of Vratsa is categorical that, as the heir of one of the oldest and most important civilizations in the world, China is a desirable partner for whom Bulgaria has deep friendly feelings. He also expresses his confidence in the long-term partnership between Vratsa and Mianyan.
Q. Mr. Kamenov, please introduce us to the background and some details of the recently signed Cooperation Agreement between the city of Vratsa and the Chinese city of Mianyang, which started serving the China-Europe cargo line last year. Say what specific projects and initiatives you foresee in the signed document on which you intend to work together? But let’s begin with a few words about the two cities.
A. The municipality of Vratsa is the largest municipality in the region, where the main economic, administrative and cultural center of the region is located, which in turn determines the concentration of a large part of economic activities. This gives reason to determine that, in economic terms, the Municipality of Vratsa is of structural and determining importance for the development of the economy not only of the area of the same name, but also within the entire Northwest region. The economy of the municipality has a predominantly industrial appearance, which is mainly due to the formed profile of the city of Vratsa. The local industry is mainly specialized in mechanical engineering, metalworking, textile industry, chemical production, furniture production, building materials, woodworking, construction and repair activities, billets and construction and assembly works, food industry, etc. In contrast to the municipal center, where the best-represented sector is the industrial sector, followed by the service sector and the agricultural sector, with traditionally developed mechanical engineering, chemical industry, food processing, logging and woodworking, construction industry, for the 22 villages the main livelihood of the population is agriculture, with a significant predominance of grain production.
In turn, the Chinese city of Mianyang is the second largest city in Sichuan province after Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan province. It covers an area of 20,200 sq km and a population of 4.88 million people. In 2021, the city achieves a regional gross domestic product (GDP) of around US$50 billion. This makes Mianyang one of the top 100 cities in China in terms of GDP. Mianyang has been referred to as the Silicon Valley of Western China because it has a well-developed modern industry and strong research and development. The city annually hosts the China (Mianyang) Science and Technology City International High-Tech Expo, which is jointly organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the Sichuan Provincial Government, and has been named one of the ” China’s Top 10 Exhibition Cities’. Among Mianyan’s priorities is strengthening international cooperation with the countries of the “One Belt One Road” project. In June 2022, Mianyang will start serving the China-Europe cargo line.
The process of negotiating bilateral cooperation lasted several months. This dialogue is the result of the intention of the Municipality of Vratsa and the city of Mianjan to expand their international activities by establishing friendly relations of cooperation. The desire of the teams of the two cities to formalize their partnership relations, as well as to establish the two cities as an active axis of cross-border partnership, was huge. In this regard, on June 20 of this year, we were able to sign the Memorandum for establishing friendly cooperation with the following main highlights:
- promoting bilateral development, strengthening friendship and mutual understanding between the peoples of the two countries and laying the foundations for the next step – signing a twinning agreement;
- implementation of exchange and cooperation between the two cities in the fields of science and technology, economy and trade, sports, agriculture, education, tourism, etc.;
- strengthening the friendly cooperation between the municipalities and residents of the two cities and maintaining contacts between the leaders and the respective administrations of the two countries for the exchange of information of mutual interest and the discussion of significant cooperation projects.
The main projects on which we will work together are to be clarified.
Q. What were the impressions of the Chinese delegation that visited the Municipality of Vratsa in connection with the signing of the document and what were their specific proposals, in which areas do they propose to invest and cooperate above all?
A. For us, the residents of Vratsa, it was extremely pleasant to welcome a delegation from the city of Mianyan. Excellent impressions were shared of the warm reception, of the opportunity to visit various sites in the city, as well as to meet business representatives in Vratsa. We received a wonderful letter of thanks from the head of the Chinese delegation, Mrs. Wang Huajun, for which we are extremely grateful.
The joint cooperation is an opportunity to exchange experience and to implement key projects in the field of education, economy and tourism. Here is the time to emphasize the huge interest in learning Chinese in the schools and kindergartens in the municipality. From the current school year, there will be Chinese language classes in Vratsa schools, for which we thank the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Bulgaria and the “Confucius” Institute at Veliko Tarnovo University “St. St. Cyril and Methodius”.
Together with my team, we believe that the Municipality of Vratsa has potential both for attracting Chinese investors and for the implementation of large-scale projects in the IT sector, educational and social infrastructure, culture and tourism. These are also the main priority directions of the future dialogue. The signed Memorandum is an excellent opportunity to strengthen exchanges and cooperation in these areas.
Q. Is this the first Cooperation Agreement between the Municipality of Vratsa and Chinese counterparts, and have there been other Chinese cities or provinces with which Vratsa exchanges experience and interacts?
A. For the Municipality of Vratsa, this is the first cooperation agreement with Chinese colleagues. It is a great respect and honor for us to have the opportunity to communicate with the city of Mianyang. My colleagues and I were extremely impressed by the remarkable economic, cultural and scientific research potential of Mianyang, as well as the rapid development of the city in the past few decades. In this regard, I believe there are wonderful opportunities to share and explore the mutually diverse cultural heritage of our two cities, creating a rich, lively dialogue and positive exchange of ideas. Our relationship can evolve in a much more progressive way in response to the challenges and opportunities of the technological age in which we live.
As the heir of one of the oldest and most significant civilizations in the world, China is a desirable partner for whom Bulgaria has deep friendly feelings. Personally, I believe in a long-term partnership between our two cities.
#Kalin #Kamenov #Bulgarian #city #Vratsa #Chinese #city #Mianyang #establishing #active #axis #crossborder #partnership
