Consul officials praise SZ's growth

Foreign observer walks into the venue of the opening meeting of the annual session of Shenzhen's legislature. Photos by Sun Yuchen

Lucia Pasqualini

Wale Oloko. Photo by Liu Xudong

Consul officials in Guangzhou who were invited to the Shenzhen legislature’s annual session were impressed with the city’s growth and praised the city’s achievements.

After hearing the government report delivered by Shenzhen Mayor Chen Rugui at the opening of the seventh session of the Sixth Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress on Friday, Wale Oloko, consul of the Consulate General of Nigeria in Guangzhou, said he expects Shenzhen will do better in 2019 to bring further benefits to people.

Oloko applauded Shenzhen’s efforts in improving the business environment and its role in the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Oloko said he was impressed by the city’s efforts to alleviate the burdens on enterprises, streamline the registration process for businesses and give assistance to companies in attracting experts and talents by introducing a slew of targeted measures.

“I am more interested in renewable energy and technology,” Oloko said. “Companies like Huawei, ZTE and BYD are based in Shenzhen and they are also in Africa and Nigeria. The innovation, technology, renewable energy and design, which have put Shenzhen on the world map, are of interest to people like me and my country.”

It was the first time Aleksandr Smirnov, deputy consul of the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Guangzhou, has attended an MPC session.

“Shenzhen is a very beautiful city and I am impressed with, confident and optimistic about Shenzhen’s development,” said Smirnov.

Lucia Pasqualini, consul general of the Consulate General of Italy in Guangzhou, said Chen’s report was “strategic and visionary.”

Education, technology, innovation and air quality are the words that really struck Pasqualini. “I think there is much to do in terms of cooperation with the cultural institutions, museums and even hospitals,” Pasqualini said.

Pasqualini is interested in cultural exchanges. “Shenzhen has fantastic cultural centers, museums and concert halls. Italy can bring high-quality performances to Shenzhen.”

Pedro Murilo Ortega Terra, consul general of Brazil in Guangzhou, was impressed with the city’s work on transport infrastructure.

“Shenzhen builds very good transport hubs to integrate cities,” said Terra, who also paid attention to air quality. “I believe Shenzhen can make every day as beautiful as today.”