VLADIVOSTOK TO BECOME KOTA KINABALU'S FOURTH SISTER CITY

KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), March 16 (Bernama)-- The Kota Kinabalu City Hall
(KKCH) reached another milestone on Monday, when it added Vladivostok in the
Russian Federation, as it fourth Sister City.

Kota Kinabalu, formerly Jesselton, is the capital of Sabah, an East Malaysia
state.

Mayor Iliyas Ibrahim and his Vladivostok counterpart, Igor Pushkaryov,
officially established the Sister City relationship during a signing ceremony
in the Russian city Monday.

A statement issued by the KKCH here Tuesday said, witnessing the historical
event were, Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Masidi
Manjun, the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Suzannah Liaw and Sabah
Tourism Board General Manager, Irene Benggon Charuruks.

Also present were Vladivostok City Vice Mayor, Alexey Litvinov, KKCH Deputy
Director-General, Joannes Solidau and other offcials, Shangri-La Tanjung Aru
General Manager, Andrew Steele, senior officers from the Sabah Tourism Board and
tourism agents from the state.

Following the ceremony, Kota Kinabalu and Vladivostok agreed to promote
economical, cultural, scientific and other exchanges.

Both will also provide information to their citizens about the history,
culture and life in their respective cities while promoting the exchange of
officials, cultural, sport, youth and other delegations.

They will also inform each other about the structure and activities
undertaken by their respective local governments, as well as promote various
events aimed at strengthening the Sister City ties.

In his address, Iliyas said he was very impressed with the beautiful port
city of Vladivostok and thanked Pushkaryov for accepting Kota Kinabalu as
a Sister City.

Kota Kinabalu is Vladivostok's 18th Sister City.

According to Iliyas, Kota Kinabalu achieved city status in 2000 while
Vladivostok's history can be traced to as far back as the 1850s.

This he stated, is an advantage for KKCH to learn from Vladivostok,
especially in terms of city management.

Pushkaryov meanwhile said, he was very happy to establish the relationship
with Kota Kinabalu.

He also expressed confidence that bilateral ties between both cities would
be improved with business and cultural exchanges benefitting Vladivostok.

Masidi, who chaired a press conference, said there was a great tourism and
business potential to be tapped between Kota Kinabalu and Vladivostok.

The Minister said his Ministry would be organising a familiarisation trip to
Sabah for the media and tourism agents from Russia.

He added that where tourism is concerned, it is not only about Russians
coming to Sabah but also Sabahans visiting Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is Russia’s largest port city on the Pacific Ocean.

It is situated at the head of the Golden Horn Bay, not far from Russia’s
border with China and North Korea. It is also the home port of the Russian
Pacific Fleet.

It has a population of about 600,000 with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians
making up the majority.

The city's main industries are shipping and commercial fishing. Its main
exports are fish, timber products, metal and ships, while its main imports are
food products, medicine, clothing, footwear, automobiles and household items.

The Trans-Siberian Railway was built to connect European Russia with
Vladivostok.

Vladivostok is also home to numerous educational institutions, with six
universities and the Vladivostok State Medical University, being one of the
ten popular medical universities in Russia.

Apart from the Sister City signing ceremony, the delegation from Sabah who
are on a seven-day working visit to Vladivostok and South Korea, also visited
places of interests in the city and the internationally known Vladivostok Ocean
Youth Camp.

A discussion on tourism exchanges was also held with the Sabah Tourism
Board presenting a tourism documentary to tourism agents in Vladivostok, and
vice-versa by the Vladivostok City Tourism Department.

-- BERNAMA