A Chinese city wants to sign a friendship agreement with Galway City.

Liyang, with a population of 800,000 people in Jiangsu Province on the east coast of China, has moved to forge economic and cultural links with Galway.

Its municipal government mayor, Minghua Ye, and a delegation, met with Mayor of Galway, Eddie Hoare, at City Hall this June to discuss a potential friendship agreement.

Mayor Hoare, a Fine Gael Councillor, confirmed to the Galway City Tribune that he signed “an agreement with an intention to agree a friendship agreement”, during the meeting.

Former Mayor, Councillor Niall McNelis (Lab) signed a similar agreement in 2019, when Liyang’s former mayor visited Galway.

Mayor Ye wrote to Mayor Hoare advising that he wanted to “build on” the relationship struck between their two predecessors four years ago.

An actual friendship agreement cannot be signed unless there is agreement of the elected members.

Mayor Hoare raised the matter at a City Council meeting in June and at a Corporate Policy Group meeting in March, where these types of decisions are taken. He said he would raise it again at the next CPG in September, where official approval will be sought.

The proposed agreement to establish diplomatic relations between the two cities is for ‘promoting mutual understanding and consolidating friendly co-operation’.

“The two parties agree to make concerted efforts, on the basis of equal partnership and mutual benefits, to promote friendly people-to-people contacts as well as economic and trade co-operation and actively conducting exchange and co-operation in the areas of science, technology, culture, sport, health, education and human resources,” said the draft agreement sent from the Mayor of Liyang to Mayor Hoare.

Pictured: Liyang, on the east coast of China, has  a population of 800,000 people.