Pretty Phuket and gorgeous George Town become bosom buddies

PHUKET: Phuket and Penang’s George Town yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the establishment of sister city status.

The Royal Thai Consul-General to Penang Srirat Vathesatogkit met with Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut to discuss signing an MoU with George Town. The Phuket Town mayor, the director of the Phuket Passport Office and the Peranakan Association chairman joined the meeting.

Mrs Srirat said that this was a great opportunity for the cities to exchange cooperation on tourism and history as they had a historical connection – Sino-Portuguese buildings, rubber trees, and mines for example.

Phraya Ratsadanupradit Mahitsaraphakdi (Khaw Sim Bee), former commissioner of Monthon Phuket, had learned from Penang how to govern the island city. In addition, Phuket can also learn a lot from Penang as a World Heritage site and green city.

Malaysia’s Melaka and George Town, both historic cities of the Straits of Malacca, were inscribed as World Heritage by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 2008.

Sister cities, or twin towns, are established through a social and legal agreement between two member cities which are politically or geographically distinct.

Penang is vibrant and diverse island city along the Strait of Malacca with a burgeoning tourist industry (related story here)

— NNT