TAMWORTH has a new sister city, after mayor Col Murray travelled to China to officially ink the deal with Qinglong.
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It hasn’t been smooth-sailing for the Tamworth-Qinglong relationship, with council almost pulling the pin on the economic agreement a fortnight ago.
Cr Murray said the signing was just the beginning rather than crossing the finish line, but the mayor is confident a long-term relationship will bring huge benefits to the city.
Built around agricultural education, the mayor envisions Chinese students accessing degree level learning through Tamworth and council is already looking to start discussions with university partners.
“There was a bit of a shift in focus,” Cr Murray said.
“It’s developed into something like a degree.”
The focus of this international partnership is providing agricultural training, but Cr Murray said there was a lot squeezed into the China trip and said there was scope for a cultural exchange with the region.
“Country music is on their agenda,” Cr Murray said.
“But there is an economic benefit out of country music, it potentially opens up a huge audience we haven’t had an access point to.”
The mayor also said council’s new sister was looking at the potential of sending a cultural dance troupe to the Nundle Go For Gold festival, enhancing the village’s Chinese connection.
Cr Murray said the partnership would be of particular benefit to Tamworth’s Australian Institute of Agricultural Research (AIAR).
“We’d like them to invest in some hard infrastructure here,” he said.
The mayor emphasised the partnership was a long-term “work in progress”.
“The opportunities will take some time,” he said. “This will be a work in progress for some time.”
The partnership with Qinglong continues to shore up Tamworth’s position as a higher-level education hub.
“There’s some other areas with some real opportunities, like health care training,” he said. “And there’s also some interest in higher-level music training.”