Partnership leads to growth

Yun (right) chatting with Abidin during a lunch to welcome the ambassador.— NORMIMIE DIUN/The Star

KOTA KINABALU: The partnership between Kota Kinabalu and Oregon, Portland as sister cities has grown stronger over the past year.

Kota Kinabalu mayor Datuk Abidin Madingkir said the sister-city status that was established since Sept 29, 2014, has brought about various potential developments and opportunities.

“These included a possible collaboration in terms of setting up a beer brewery partnership between Portland and Kota Kinabalu,” he said in his welcoming speech during a luncheon with US ambassador Joseph Yun and Portland delegation members here recently.

Abidin said there had also been several visits from Portland to Sabah throughout the year.

“Among them includes an official visit to the Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC) by ambassador Yun and other embassy members, having a student from the Oregon State University spend a month at the DGFC as a volunteer, and obtaining a grant from the US Embassy for the Sabah Wildlife Department and DGFC in November last year,” he said.

Abidin said the field centre had also sent one of its students, Lim Hong Ye, for a five-month internship at the Oregon State University recently.

“We hope these collaborations would continue to help Portland and Sabah foster closer relations and bring about more developments,” he said.

Meanwhile, Yun in his speech also said the strengthening relations between both cities was due to its similarities in culture and people.

“The culture of people in both cities is friendly and very welcoming to visitors,” he said, adding that both cities are committed to development and building of human capital.