ZAGREB, April 10, 2018 - Zadar County and China's Hainan province signed in Bo'ao on Monday a charter of friendship as part of the Bo'ao Forum for Asia 2018 - an annual conference for government leaders and business people from Asia and other continents.
Zadar's delegation at the forum was led by County Prefect Božidar Longin and other county officials. Longin signed the charter with Hainan Governor Shen Xiaoming to establish friendship between the two regions, with Croatia's Ambassador to China, Nebojša Koharović, attending the official signing ceremony.
"We signed long-term friendship cooperation with an exceptionally interesting Chinese region. The region is China's largest island, it has great strategic significance and is also their most attractive tourism destination. We have discussed cooperation in the field of tourism, economy, culture and education. We have invited the governor to visit Zadar Country and he accepted our invitation with pleasure," Longin said.
The entire process began in January when Zadar County representatives visited Beijing. Hainan appeared to be a logical choice, Longin said, because it is one of China's most attractive regions and is similar to Crroatia's south. Hainan is China's southernmost and smallest province and is considered to be a tourism jewel.
The charter of friendship means work on future cooperation that won't just focus on tourism but also will attempt to establish cooperation with the University of Zadar, Zadar Airport, direct flights by Hainan Airlines, as well as cooperation with the Zadar port.
"Cooperation between our two countries can also be achieved through the development of freight transport with the construction of a ro-ro terminal. We shouldn't forget the enormous increase in the number of Chinese guests over the past few years. The introduction of direct flights between Zadar and China would therefore bring positive effects for the entire county, and would enable Chinese guests to then make Zadar their home port from where they can cruise along the entire Mediterranean," Longin added.
