LAHORE: The Punjab government has plans to create sister cities arrangements between five cities of Punjab and China.

The Punjab local government and community development department is presenting a Letter of Intent (LoI) for the creation of sister cities in Punjab cabinet’s 24th meeting scheduled for Jan 30 (Thursday).

The Punjab government plans to develop Faisalabad and Qingdo; Rawalpindi and Wuhan; Bahawalpur and Nanjing; Taxila and Datong; and Multan and Xian as sister cities as a part of Pakistan-China Year of Friendship Sisters Cities 2019.

The local government department will also take up a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Lahore and city of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province of China.

The cabinet will take up energy department’s request of establishment of Trust under Social Responsibility Agreement (SRA), provision of utilities in Special Economic Zones (SEZs) and allowing Quaid-i-Azam Thermal Power (Pvt) Limited to mortgage the project land.

The cabinet will discuss approval of Punjab Electronic Invoice Monitoring System (EMIS) Rules, 2019; audit report of the Auditor General of Pakistan on the accounts of Disaster Management Organisations Punjab Audit Year 2018-19; and amendment in second Schedule of the Punjab Sales Tax on Services Act, 2012.

The health department is putting forward legislation for regularisation of lady health workers and other staff of Integrated Reproductive Maternal, Neonatal and Child Health and Nutrition Programme; and the Punjab Drugs and Cosmetics Amendments Act 2019.

The higher education department will be presenting amendment in the University of Wah Act, 2019.

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2020