Recently, Haikou successfully twinned with a new sister city - Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni in Greece. With this addition, the number of Haikou's international sister cities (including friendly exchange cities) has reached 45, spread across 36 countries on five continents.
The city of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni has a rich cultural heritage and numerous Blue Flag beaches. As a transportation hub of Greece, the city attracts a large number of foreign dignitaries and high-net-worth tourists every year. It is one of the rapidly developing economic regions in Greece and an international high-quality tourist destination.
Greece is an important partner of China in the joint development of the "Belt and Road" initiative and civilization exchange. The city of Vari-Voula-Vouliagmeni has great potential for cooperation with Haikou in areas such as trade, tourism, and culture. The signing of the memorandum of understanding to establish a sister city relationship between the two cities marks the beginning of a new chapter in the friendship between Haikou and Greece and also broadens resources and injects new momentum for Haikou to promote the construction of the Hainan Free Trade Port.