China honours ‘common thread’ of sister city Cork
Pat Ledwidge is director of services on strategic planning, economic development, and enterprise with Cork City Council.
He was awarded the Magnolia Silver Medal by the Shanghai Municipal People’s Government.
Close up of Pat's Silver Magnolia award - v unusual for a non Shanghai native to receive the award #corkshanghai10 pic.twitter.com/kj5IrDjo1s
— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) October 21, 2015
Cork’s Lord Mayor Chris O’Leary said the senior management official “has worked tirelessly and selflessly on our twinning with Shanghai and it is a very proud day for him personally and for Cork City”.
Cork has developed very strong ties with Shanghai over the past decade across areas such as education, government, business, the arts, and culture.
#Cork Lord Mayor .@chrisjoleary addressing the economic & trade forum, as part of #corkshanghai10 celebrations pic.twitter.com/7ydy40q6lp
— Eoin English (@EoinBearla) October 21, 2015
The award was presented at a major Economic and Trade Forum in Shanghai held as part of a busy programme of events at which Mr O’Leary is leading a large Cork delegation.
Shao Huixiang, deputy director general of the Shanghai Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, paid tribute to Mr Ledwidge and his work in developing ties with the city.
“We don’t measure success by the size of the cities but rather the quality of the relations and Cork is one of the most successful,” Mr Huixiang said.
