DUSHANBE, June 21, 2013, Asia-Plus – On Thursday June 20, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon received Mr. Liu Keqing, Mayor of Xiamen, China.

According to the Tajik president’s official website, the two discussed issues related to expansion of bilateral cooperation between Dushanbe and Xiamen.   

Rahmon reportedly expressed confidence that expansion of bilateral cooperation between the two cities would serve interests of both sides.

Xiamen mayor, for his part, noted that a large group of Chinese businessmen were accompanying him on his visit to Tajikistan in order to consider issues of establishment and expansion of economic cooperation with their Tajik counterparts.

Meanwhile, the Dushanbe mayor’s office reports that Dushanbe Mayor Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloyev and Xiamen Mayor Liu Keqing signed a sister-city agreement here on June 20.

The Chinese delegation visited a number of industrial enterprises in Dushanbe and participated in a business forum organized fro Dushanbe and Xiamen entrepreneurs.

The Chinese delegation arrived in Dushanbe on June 19 and its visit to Tajikistan will conclude on June 23.

Xiamen is a major city on the southeast (Taiwan Strait) coast of the People''s Republic of China.  It is administered as a sub-provincial city of Fujian province with an area of 1,699.39 square kilometers and population of 3.67 million.  It borders Quanzhou to the north and Zhangzhou making this a unique built up area of more than five million people.

Xiamen has a diverse and well-developed economy.  Primary economic activities include fishing, shipbuilding, food processing, tanning, textiles, machine tool manufacturing, chemical industries, telecommunications and financial services.  The city reportedly has economic and trade relations with 162 countries and regions worldwide, and benefits from foreign investment, particularly capital from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Xiamen is the host of the China International Fair for Investment and Trade held annually in early September to attract foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland.