阿纳姆市及我本人非常高兴收到这次会议的邀请。在任阿纳姆市市长一年之后，我很高兴有机会访问贵市。
今年五月，我有幸会晤了中共武汉市委书记罗清泉先生，我们就医疗卫生、教育、旅游及体育等多方面的合作进行了富有成果的探讨。
能够出席本次会议是一次结识欧洲及其他地区城市同行的绝好机会，因此，我期待着在此度过愉快而富有成效的时光。
荷兰阿纳姆市以能够成为武汉市的友好城市而深感荣幸。在过去的几年里，我听说了很多有关两市交往的故事，这些故事反映了贵市特别是贵市政府十分热情好客。所有到会的城市所表现出的浓厚兴趣显示了地处中国腹地的重镇武汉发展迅猛，特别是在经济领域。这也同时展示了武汉市与国际社会的广泛联系。我很高兴阿纳姆市成为这个网络的一 部分。
阿纳姆与贵市的友谊始于1996年。当时阿纳姆市议会接待了武汉市人大代表团，该团访问了贵市的友好城市曼彻斯特、波尔多和杜伊斯堡之后，来我市访问。会见后，双方就两市在经济领域的合作达成协议。此后不久，两市的合作范围不断扩大，特别在城市垃圾处理方面，双方开始合作，并为此进行了多种形式的互访。
双方的接触不仅限于阿纳姆市，以阿纳姆为首府的荷兰海尔德兰省与以武汉市为首府的中国湖北省也建立了正式友好关系。距阿纳姆15公里的奈梅亨市与中国苏州结为友好城市。这成为聚集我们的力量以及互利互惠的好方式。
如上所述，我们双方合作的重要内容是经济合作。中国的经济发展进步神速，阿纳姆及周边地区的许多企业都意识到了这一点，因而对在中国寻找商业伙伴兴趣很高。双方商务代表团的互访成果斐然。
为什么与武汉结好对阿纳姆如此重要呢？武汉市的经济增长长期在中国平均水平以上，因此，她是一个有发展前景的城市。这给阿纳姆地区的商业机构提供了许多未来合作及联系的良机。我们已向这个方向迈出了第一步。我们希望今后会有一天，中国的企业将有意到欧洲市场发展，欧洲市场将向贵国及贵市提供足够的投资机会。
在这方面，阿纳姆地区也同样能够提供大量机遇。经济发展是阿纳姆市发展方针的先锋。我市具有良好的投资环境及兴旺发达的商业社团，世界贸易中心分部不久将在我市市中心落成。阿纳姆区位优势明显，地处荷兰国家机场及德国鲁尔工业区之间，水陆铁交通发达，阿姆斯特丹至德国的高速火车将在我市设站停留，这将对我市及周边地区的经济发展起到积极的促进作用。
阿纳姆市火车站周围地区将进行整体改造，从而呈现一个全新的面貌。该地区将建成一个大的写字楼区。作为一个工业城市，阿纳姆市发展势态良好，特别是大有发展前途的第三产业企业众多，不仅如此，各类制造业企业也在此落户。
就业机会对武汉、阿纳姆以及所有与会的城市都非常重要。我们都在为我们城市的未来而努力工作，包括市民的就业机会，这都与吸引公司落户密不可分。大多数企业都在为其产品和服务寻找市场，而市场遍布全球。因此，我们企业之间，特别是掌握城市未来的政府之间不仅要互相了解，而且要加强联系以确保作出正确的决策，因为他们决定着城市的未来。因此，我认为这次会议极其重要。
这就是说，在进行城市规划设计时，必须使之对国内外的公司企业都具有吸引力。如果投资环境很差，重要的条件不能得到满足，现有的公司企业就会离开，新的也不会再来，结果是就业机会减少，青年人才外流，城市失去活力，其严重后果不堪设想。
阿纳姆不仅是一个美丽的城市，而且着眼未来，城市的大规模重新设计及其周边的田园风光使其成为一个既适于工作又适于生活的城市。阿纳姆的优势还在于其劳动力潜力，良好的教育设施，包括一所国际学校，一套完整的后勤和商业服务系统及不断进步的经济活动。同时，在文化和体育领域也能开展很多活动。
总之，阿纳姆市是一个极具吸引力的城市，欢迎大家光临。
Speech by Mayor of Arnhem,the Netherlands
Wuhan International Sister Cities Forum
October 2002, Wuhan, P.R. China
Contribution from Arnhem, The Netherlands
(mark!: the spoken text will be the authorized version)
The city of Arnhem was extremely pleased to receive an invitation to this conference and I in turn was delighted to accept it. Therefore, for the first time since my appointment as mayor of Arnhem now more than a year ago, I am in the position to get to know your city.
Back in May, I had the opportunity of meeting Mister Luo Qing Quan, the secretary of the Wuhan Municipal Committee of the Chinese communist party. It was an extremely fruitful meeting, where we discussed various types of cooperation in the area of healthcare, education, tourism and sport.
Being here is also an excellent opportunity to meet many colleagues from other cities both within and outside of Europe.
I am therefore looking forward to some enjoyable and fruitful days.
In the Dutch city of Arnhem, we are proud of being one of Wuhan’s partners. The many stories I have heard of the various contacts that there have been in the last years reflect the immense hospitality that your city displays and especially that you, the government of Wuhan, display.
The interest shown for your city by all of the cities that are represented here indicates how quickly Wuhan, a city in the centre of China, has developed, with economic development being especially marked.
It also shows how extensive Wuhan’s international contacts are. I am very pleased that Arnhem forms part of this network.
Arnhem’s relationship with your city dates from 1996. It was then that the council of Arnhem received a delegation of representatives from the People’s Congress of the city of Wuhan. The delegation was in Europe to visit Wuhan’s official European sister cities of Manchester, Bordeaux and Duisburg. During the meeting with the delegation, agreement was reached on the main theme of our cooperation, which was in the area of economic development.
Very soon afterwards it became clear that there was also considerable interest for joint activities in other areas, Arnhem’s approach to the problem of waste was of special interest. This led to further cooperation in this area. Several visits in various forms followed.
Fortunately, the contacts were not restricted to Arnhem. The Dutch province of Gelderland, of which Arnhem is the capital, has built up an official friendship relationship with the Chinese province of Hubei, of which Wuhan is the capital. Nijmegen, a city fifteen kilometres from Arnhem, has found a Chinese sister city in Suzhou. It is very beneficial to combine our strengths in this way.
The most important aspect of our cooperation consists, as I said earlier, of economic activities. The economic developments in China are progressing rapidly and many companies from Arnhem and the region have recognised this and have shown interest in finding trading partners in China. Reciprocal trade missions have been organised with positive results.
Why is it so important for Arnhem to invest in a good network with Wuhan?
Wuhan is a city where economic growth regularly exceeds the national average. Therefore a city with a future.
It offers the business community in the Arnhem region many connections and good opportunities for further cooperation. The first steps in this direction have therefore been taken. And because we look to the future, we naturally hope that in the long term a moment will come when Chinese companies will want to be represented on the European market. That market has much to offer and can provide your country and your city with more than enough opportunities to invest.
Arnhem also has and offers opportunities in this area.
Economic development is one of the spearheads of Arnhem’s policy. The city has a good investment climate, a flourishing business community, in a while there will be a branch of the World Trade Centre in the centre of town and Arnhem is situated at a location that is not only unique for the Netherlands, but one that is extremely favourable.
Arnhem lies between Schiphol, the national airport of the Netherlands, and the German Ruhr, at an intersection of water, road and rail links. With respect to the latter, Arnhem will have a station for the High-Speed train Line that runs between Amsterdam and Germany. Elsewhere this has proved to have had a positive influence on the economic growth of a city and the surrounding region.
The area around the train station in Arnhem will be completely redeveloped, will be given a completely new appearance and a large office quarter will be developed.
As an industrial city, things are going well for Arnhem, there is a large number of companies in the service sector, the sector with a future. However, not only service companies but also manufacturers are housed on the various industrial estates.
Employment is good for your city and for mine and of course for all of the other cities represented here. You and I work on the future of our cities. This also includes employment for the residents. This means that the people who run a city must do everything to offer employment. Attracting companies is inextricably linked to this. The majority of companies look for a market for their products or services and the market is world wide. Therefore you must get to know each other and intensify the relationship to ensure that the correct decisions are made. Not only between companies but also with the people who govern the city, because they are the ones who are occupied with the future of their city.
It is for this reason that I find a conference such as this so important.
It also means that you must plan your city in a way that makes it attractive to both national and international companies. If the climate is poor and important conditions cannot be satisfied, then existing companies will leave and new companies will not be set up. The result is that employment tails off and talented young people move elsewhere.
You can imagine the consequences for yourself. The dynamism evaporates from the city.
Therefore Arnhem is not only a beautiful city, but also one that has an eye for its future. The spacious layout of the city and the rural surroundings make Arnhem an agreeable residential town in which to work and a pleasant industrial town in which to live. Other strong points of Arnhem are the labour potential, the good educational provisions, including an international school, a wide offering of logistic and business services and progressive economic activity. But the city also has much to offer in the area of culture and sport.
In short: Arnhem is a very attractive city and you are all very welcome. |
