Cebu City to renew ties with Kortrijk

CEBU, Philippines - Cebu City is set to renew its partnership with Kortrijk in Belgium in an aim fortify international linkages.

 The City Council has authorized Mayor Michael Rama to renew the sister-city cooperation agreement with Kortrijk.

 The new memorandum of agreement would only cover a two-year partnership contract, contrary to the three-year contract proposed by the City Council of Kortrijk last November 2013.

 However, the sister-cities shall assess the cooperation agreement when it expires next year as stipulated in the MOA. The evaluation report forms the basis of drafting of any possible new agreement.

 Kortrijk became Cebu’s sister city by virtue of a sustainable urban development partnership agreement signed on May 17, 2005. It has over two million residents.

 In the intervening years, both cities worked together in terms of waste management, citizen participation, education and affair.

 Kortrijk Mayor Vincent Van Quickenborne said there is a necessity to continue the sister city-relationship.  

 In August 2013, the city has evaluated the Kortrijk-Cebu cooperation particularly its impact to both cities if the partnership would be extended.

 In the same year, Arnold Vandenbroeck also conducted an evaluation in Cebu City as to the terms and reference, efficacy, impact and sustainability of the international link or partnership.

 Quickenborne pointed out that the expenses of the “twinning arrangement” were taken from the Municipal Development Cooperation Understanding via an impulse policy with the Flemish Government.

  Based on their evaluation, of the total 399 personnel, city council, north-south board of Kortrijk, receivers, job seekers, young people and trainees, 235 (about 60 percent) agreed to continue the sister-city relationship. However, 56 (17 percent) disagreed while 108 had no opinion.

 Most of those who agreed pointed to “open borders, learning from each other based on parity (openness works in an inspiring way and putting things in perspective), to make global topics more concrete and to make cooperation more tangible” as reasons. (FREEMAN)