Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong led a delegation to visit Turkey from June 7 to 10 and met with Mevlut Uysal, mayor of Istanbul.

During the meeting, Ying said Shanghai and Istanbul established the twin city tie in 1989 and the two cities have carried out extensive cooperation and achieved great results ever since.

Both as important juncture cities along the Belt and Road countries, Shanghai and Istanbul have great potential in cooperation, which is expected to be further strengthened in trade, traffic, ports, education and tourism. The two cities can also learn from each other’s experiences, Ying added.

Uysal said Istanbul values the 30-year friendly relationship with Shanghai and hopes to strengthen the cooperation in every aspect with the city under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative.

Later, Ying visited Bogazici University and met its President Mehmed Ozkan and attended the opening ceremony of the Commemorative Photo Exhibition of China-Shanghai’s 40th Anniversary of Opening-up and Reforms. Ying said openness is Shanghai’s biggest strength and international education exchanges are a big part as well as an indicator of Shanghai’s openness.

In 2008, Shanghai University and Bogazici University jointly set up a Confucius Institute at Bogazici University to promote Chinese education, culture, cultural exchanges and academic researches and it has achieved remarkable results. Shanghai will keep supporting the two universities to carry out cooperation in various fields. Also, Shanghai hopes the two universities can set up a good example for cooperation between the two cities.

Also, the photo exhibition will serve as a window for the students and faculty at Bogazici University to learn about Shanghai, China, and their opening-up policies and reforms.

At Kumport Port, a project affiliated to China Cosco Shipping Corporation, Ying visited the port’s Chinese and foreign staff and management. Cosco acquired the Kumport port in 2015 and now it’s in good operation condition. The corporation has built or acquired 18 ports worldwide, 16 of which are in the Belt and Road countries.

Ying pointed out that Cosco’s optimization of resources and better development has supported China’s national strategies. Shanghai has the biggest port operator, comprehensive shipping lines and port equipment supplier. Shanghai should exert its resources advantages to promote more Chinese companies to expand into the overseas markets.

Cui Wei, consul-general of China’s consulate general in Istanbul, also attended the related events.

Shanghai Mayor Ying Yong meets with Mevlut Uysal, mayor of Istanbul.