Victoria's Sister States
Establishing relationships with states in other countries provides many opportunities to exchange knowledge, encourage international cooperation and develop goodwill. These relationships foster the development of economic and cultural links which directly benefit Victorians and Victoria’s Sister States.
Programs encompass areas such as culture, education, the performing arts, sports, youth exchange and environmental management.
Victoria has three formal associations, known as Sister State Relationships, with the following:
Government Branch in the Department of Premier and Cabinet is responsible for maintaining and developing Victoria’s Sister State relationships.
Jiangsu Province, China
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| Jiangsu Province is located in the centre of China’s eastern coastline. It is a low-lying province laced with rivers and canals, which has helped make it very fertile and prosperous. For many centuries, Jiangsu has held an important place in China’s culture and economy. It is now one of the most densely populated provinces in China, with a population of well over 70 million. |
The late Hon Sir Rupert Hamer MP, former Premier of Victoria, and His Excellency Hu Jiatun, Governor of Jiangsu, signed the Victoria-Jiangsu Sister State agreement in 1979, making it one of the first Sister State relationships between Chinese and Australian States.
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| Jiangsu and Victoria’s relationship has also featured regular reciprocal visits by senior government officials. The Hon Steve Bracks MP, Premier of Victoria, has visited Jiangsu twice, most recently in 2004, while visits to Victoria by Vice Governors of Jiangsu have been frequent in recent years. |
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Over the years there have been many sporting and cultural exchanges as well as visits by study groups.
In 1999 the Victorian and Jiangsu Governments each sent 20 Youth Ambassadors on an exchange to mark the 20th anniversary of the Sister State relationship. The Youth Ambassadors learned about their Sister State and promoted intercultural communication during very successful visits.
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Among the major gifts that have been exchanged between Victoria and Jiangsu is the Facing Heaven Archway, which is located in Cohen Place in Melbourne’s Chinatown. The traditional archway is based on the design of Nanjing’s palace gates. It was constructed in 1985 to celebrate the 15th anniversary of Victoria and Jiangsu’s Sister State relationship. | |
In 2004, while visiting Jiangsu, The Hon Steve Bracks MP, Premier of Victoria, announced that Victoria had commissioned a large tapestry from the Victorian Tapestry Workshop. The tapestry will be displayed in the new Nanjing Library to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Sister State relationship. The tapestry has now been completed, and was displayed at the State Library of Victoria before being delivered to Jiangsu in 2007. |
Further information:
Aichi Prefecture
Aichi Prefecture is located in central Japan on the island of Honshu and has a population of more than 7 million. Aichi is Japan’s leading producer of manufactured products and home to some of the world’s top brands such as Toyota, Brother and Noritake. Aichi’s coastal areas offer an abundance of fresh seafood as well as attractive natural features, while inland areas feature mountain forests.
There are strong and active economic links between Victoria and Aichi. They are exemplified in Toyota’s large manufacturing facility in Altona and also extend to trade and direct investment.
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| The late Hon Sir Rupert Hamer MP, former Premier of Victoria and Yoshiaki Nakaya, Governor of Aichi established Victoria’s Sister State relationship with Aichi on 2 May 1980. Educational, cultural and other exchanges have been a regular and important feature of the relationship. |
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A Japanese garden was built at Melbourne Zoo in 1990 to mark the tenth anniversary of the Sister State relationship between the State of Victoria and Aichi Prefecture. A reciprocal Australian garden was planted at the Aichi Greenification Center in Toyota City, 30kms north-east of Nagoya, capital of Aichi. These gardens symbolise the strong and vibrant friendship between the two States and reflect the natural beauty of their respective landscapes.
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There have been many high level visits as part of the Aichi-Victoria Sister State relationship, most recently by the Premier, who visited Aichi in June 2005, and the return visit by the Governor of Aichi, Masaaki Kanda, in November 2005. |
These visits formed part of the 25th anniversary of the Victoria-Aichi Sister State relationship in 2005. Celebrations included Victoria Week a week long promotion of Victoria from 26 June to 2 July which was officially opened by the Premier at the Aichi Pavilion during World Expo 2005. Several Victorian Ministers visited Expo during its 6 month duration from 25 March to 25 September 2005 and led industry missions to Japan to promote Victorian technology, food and wine, education and tourism amongst other offerings.
20 Youth Ambassadors aged 16-25 also represented Victoria at the Expo as part of Victoria Week where they raised awareness of the Sister State relationship and promoted intercultural understanding. The Youth Ambassador visit was very successful and during his reciprocal visit to Victoria in November 2005, Governor Kanda announced that Aichi would send 20 Youth Ambassadors to Victoria. The Aichi Youth Ambassadors visited Victoria in August 2006 to deepen the youth links forged by the Victorian Youth Ambassadors’ visit and to study multiculturalism in Melbourne.
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Further Information:
Busan City
Busan City (formerly Pusan City) South Korea
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Busan is a thriving city-state in the southeast of South Korea. It is the second largest city in Korea and has one of the world’s biggest ports. Busan is located in a river valley, with picturesque mountains to the east and west and beautiful scenery along the nearby coastline.
As well as being an important global port, Busan has a large fishery industry and a strong light industrial sector. Busan is also an increasingly important centre for business and culture. In November 2005, Busan hosted the 2005 APEC Summit. |
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The Hon Jeff Kennett MP, former Premier of Victoria and Mr Kim Ki-jae, Mayor of Busan, signed Busan and Victoria’s Sister State agreement on October 10, 1994. Since then, Busan and Victoria have collaborated in a wide range of areas. These include environmental management, where Victoria and Busan have established memoranda of understanding and have shared expertise. There have also been several high level, reciprocal visits of government officials. The most recent visit by a Victorian Minister to Busan was by Minister André Haermeyer in April 2005. It is anticipated that the Mayor of Busan, Mr Hur Nam-sik, will visit Victoria in March 2007.
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Further Information: