Mayor's Visit to Sakai

 

As Mayor of Wellington I had the pleasure of leading a business delegation to Sakai and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen – with brief stops in Guangzhou and Hong Kong as well.

The purpose of the trip was to strengthen the relationships between Wellington and these important

cities, develop our trade opportunities and explore new ideas for taking Wellington forward.

Sakai and Wellington have benefited from a strong relationship since 1994 when a sister-city

agreement was signed. Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama and I had a friendly and productive meeting,

and I’m pleased that he accepted my invitation to visit Wellington in 2012 in support of the Japan

Festival in September.

It was an honour to present a donation from the Wellington Sakai Association

and Wellington City to Mayor Takeyama for over $8000 to support Japan’s tsunami relief efforts. It was a short trip but we managed to fit in some very important, informative and enjoyable meetings. 

The Sakai Chamber of Commerce expressed a willingness to work closely with our Chamber to encourage further trade and investment between our cities and I was impressed with how the Sakai

Chamber and industry were fully supportive of the Cool City Sakai initiatives, aiming to retool their

industries to be less energy intensive. We visited the Sakai waterfront’s Mega Solar Power Plant – an important initiative in Sakai’s commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and Japan’s largest solar plant.

A personal highlight for me was addressing an audience of over 400 at the Sakai Women’s Centre on the topic of Women and Politics, and our delegation was warmly hosted by the Sakai Wellington Association. A great way to end a successful day in the wonderful and progressive city of Sakai. Certainly, a Cool City! AS Mayor of Wellington I had the pleasure of leading a business delegation to Sakai and the Chinese cities of Beijing, Tianjin and Xiamen – with brief stops in Guangzhou and Hong Kong as well.The purpose of the trip was to strengthen the relationships between Wellington and these important cities, develop our trade opportunities and explore new ideas for taking Wellington forward. Sakai and Wellington have benefited from a strong relationship since 1994 when a sister-city agreement was signed. Sakai Mayor Osami Takeyama and I had a friendly and productive meeting,and

I’m pleased that he accepted my invitation to visit Wellington in 2012 in support of the Japan Festival in September.

It was an honour to present a donation from the Wellington Sakai Association and Wellington City to Mayor Takeyama for over$8000 to support Japan’s tsunami relief efforts.It was a short trip but we managed to fit in some very important, informative and enjoyable meetings. The Sakai Chamber of Commerce expressed a willingness to work closely with our Chamber to encourage further trade and investment between our cities and I was impressed with how the Sakai Chamber and industry were fully supportive of the cool City Sakai initiatives, aiming to retool their industries to be less energy intensive.We visited the Sakai waterfront’s Mega Solar Power Plant – an important initiative in Sakai’scommitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,and Japan’s largest solar plant. A personal highlight for me was addressing an audience of over 400 at the Sakai Women’s Centreon the topic of Women and Politics, and our delegation was warmly hosted by the Sakai Wellington Association. A great way to end a successful day in the wonderful and progressive city of Sakai. Certainly, a Cool City!