The Cities of Davao and Hamamatsu have strengthened its bond after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, formalizing a Sister City Agreement, on Tuesday at Matina Enclaves in Davao City.
Davao City Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte and Hamamatsu City Mayor Yusuke Nakano signed the MOU, which will open cooperation in the areas of education, investments, manufacturing, among other things.
“In this era of globalization, forging strong bonds and economic ties across international borders have become essential for a locality to harness opportunities for exponential growth and progress. As such we are truly honored to have been offered the opportunity to forge a collaborative relationship and establish a mutually beneficial cooperation with Hamamatsu,” Duterte said in his message.
The proposal for the Sister City Agreement was approved during the 2nd Davao City Council on International Relations Board (DCIRB) Meeting on July 3 this year. The agreement marked a significant step in strengthening the bond between Davao and Hamamatsu.
In modern times, Hamamatsu was upgraded from being a Town to a City in 1911 and it is known for its rich history including being the hometown of Tokugawa Ieyasu, who became a Shogun in the Sengoku Period. Hamamatsu is a member of the World Health Organization’s Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC).
Meanwhile, with its aim to improve the quality of music education in the field of Music, Arts, Physical Education, and Health subjects among elementary schools in Davao City, the Yamaha Music Philippines Inc. (YMPH) signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Department of Education 11 (DepEd 11) during the event.
YMPH, a sales subsidiary of Yamaha Corporation that manufactures musical instruments and audio equipment worldwide, is introducing its “School Project” which aims to popularize activities using music and musical instruments in public education and to provide more children with opportunities to play its instruments.
“With this partnership, we hope for both Dabawenyos and the residents of Hamamatsu to learn from one another, pursue both business and academic engagements, and boost the already strong relations between Dabawenyos and the Japanese. You can be assured of the commitment and support of the city government of Davao to this partnership for the mutual benefit of our two cities,” Duterte said.
Hamamatsu City is Davao City’s third sister city in Japan. Kitakyushu City was the first sister city and has worked together with Davao City especially in the field of environment after introducing to the country the first waste-to-energy (WTE) plant in Davao City. Sennan City is the second Japanese sister city and has been very active in people-to-people exchanges including online cultural interaction between students and promoting economic relations.
