Jining, a city in East China's Shandong province, signed a collaboration agreement with Norin, a district of Namangan Region in Uzbekistan on Nov 3 to enhance cooperation in fields such as agriculture, energy, manufacturing, culture, and education.

Yu Yongsheng, mayor of Jining, said that the city has in recent years established close economic and trade exchanges with cities in Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries.

In September, a delegation from Jining visited Norin to forge deeper cooperative ties, said Yu.

The Norin mayor highlighted the status of agriculture, industry, and education in Norin and expressed the aspiration for enhanced cooperation with Jining to foster economic growth and improve the quality of life in both cities.

The delegation from Norin also visited enterprises in Liangshan county and the high-tech zone in Jining from Nov 2 to 3.

Jining, the hometown of Confucius, currently has friendly ties with 28 international cities and economic partnerships with nearly 200 countries and regions. The city has also attracted investments from 58 Fortune Global 500 companies, including Germany's Continental, the United States' Eaton and Japan's Komatsu.

Jining signs a collaboration agreement with Norin, a district of Namangan Region in Uzbekistan to enhance exchange and cooperation. [Photo/Foreign Affairs Office of Jining]