Iwate eyes Bali as new sister

DENPASAR, Bali: Governor of Japan's prefecture of Iwate, Hiroya Masuda, is interested in making his district and the resort island of Bali sister provinces.

Following a meeting with Bali Governor Ida Bagus Oka Sunday, governor Masuda said that province city relations with Bali would foster better cultural and economic cooperation, Antara reported yesterday.

He said that, in some respects, Bali had a lot in common with Iwate, which is in northern Japan.

Governor Oka said a delegation from Bali would visit Iwate in early August to sign a memorandum of understanding leading to the creation of sister province relations.

Iwate is three times larger than Bali and has a population of 1.4 million people.