It is a great pleasure and honor for me to be here again in Shanghai, in this energetic and ageless city, and in particular to participate in a conference that promotes the opportunity for a better tomorrow through the collective cooperation of individuals and organizations present here today. I am especially delighted to speak at this conference as the theme focuses on city cooperation for a better life. This is a concept that is personally familiar to me as the Tongan way of life, and indeed the Pacific way of life, is a family orientated and community founded way of life, where the individual’s obligations to the immediate and extended family, and of course the broader community, is of paramount value in defining a successful and productive life. It’s a way of life where we rely on and take care of each other. It’s a way of life that suggests no one person, community, or indeed a country for that matter, is big enough to be independent of each other. This is the perspective I wish to emphasize in the spirit of the conference theme.
　　The very notion of working together across countries is made more profoundly important when we consider the global issues we face together as peoples of the one global constituency. As we can all appreciate, governments across the world are responsible for a great number of public services for their citizens, whether it is education, health, private sector development, or waste management, these services make up an essential component of improving the standard of living, or quality of life, for citizens.
　　This responsibility was recognized at the Millennium Summit in September 2000, the largest gathering of world leaders in history and where our leaders committed their nation to a new global partnership to combat and reduce extreme poverty; hunger and disease; and to reduce the inequalities between developed and developing countries. The outcome of this summit is enshrined in the Millennium Development Goals, a set of 8 objectives to be achieved by 2015. These objectives are about people and human development. The aim to improve human well being through improving access to clean water and proper sanitation; basic health and education services; equal employment opportunities, safe, clean and secure living environments. This is a tall order for most governments around the world, and in particular the developing countries. The Millennium Development Goals can indeed be achieved, although it requires a whole of society effort to work in unison and contribute to the development of their own country and in particular to those less fortunate. This is, in my view, where Sister City arrangements or City Cooperation can greatly contribute to economic and social development.
　　For Tonga, a Sister City arrangement would provide complimentary assistance to the development efforts undertaken at a national level. This was recognized by the Tonga-China Friendship Association, and as a consequence has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with Fuqing City as a Sister City of the Tonga-China Friendship Association in Tonga. For the Tonga-China Friendship Association, we see our Sister City arrangement as a prominent partnership that can assist in all of Tonga’s priority development areas, but especially in the areas of
　　1. Rejuvenating the primary economic sectors of tourism; agriculture and fisheries; and
　　2. Investing in renewable energy sources and energy efficient mechanisms to reduce dependency on diesel fuel.
　　From a people to people friendship perspective, a deepened understanding and cooperation cannot be underestimated. It can provide the critical bridges for overcoming differences and enhancing mutual trust and respect, which will lead to greater unity and confidence of society to pursue progress and prosperity for all. This is the need that spearheads our desire to partner with China at a people to people level and engender assistance through city cooperation.
　　Sister City arrangements present a dynamic potential to reach all parts of the community. It has the opportunity to change lives and bring about a better tomorrow through sharing our combined resources and knowledge. It can strengthen economic cooperation; it can deepen cultural understanding; and it can provide a model for long term sustainable partnership at a people to people level. Most importantly, it is a model for allowing individuals and communities to take active participation in deciding the development of their community and the opportunity to create a brighter future for their children. This ideal is perhaps best captured in the way that the celebrated philosopher Bertrand Russell put it, “Contacts between different civilizations have often in the past proved to be landmarks in human progress.” As history has shown us, human progress and development have come to fruition through great sacrifice and even greater innovation. It is perhaps our time in history for extending our imagination and to think boldly as we consider throughout the conference the challenges we collective face.
　　 In closing, I extend heartfelt appreciation to the organizers for the invitation to participate in this prestigious opening ceremony and conference. I wish the conference great success and productive exchange as we deliberate on how City Cooperation may indeed create a Better Life for all.