More than 100 delegates from around New Zealand will share ideas on how to make the most of their sister-city relationships at the national Sister Cities conference in Dunedin this week.
All were looking to increase the economic benefits of their relationships, conference organiser Russell Duff said.
"This is a working conference with workshops on using sister-city links to enhance cultural, social and economic links and to build educational connections.
The big issue for everyone is whether their relationship translates into trade and economic opportunities."
The value of the conference was in "sharing success stories, discussing common problems and gathering new ideas", he said.
There are more than 150 links between New Zealand towns and cities and centres in countries such as Belgium, Italy, Greece, Ireland and the Netherlands.
By far the largest number of links are with cities in Japan and China.
The delegates will include local authority representatives, sister-city society members, diplomats and some visitors from overseas centres partnered with New Zealand towns.
Mr Duff, a Dunedin businessman who retired to Wanaka, was one of the founders of Dunedin's link with Otaru, Japan, 30 years ago.
He said the Japanese ambassador to New Zealand, Toshihiro Takahashi, would also speak at the conference to commemorate the anniversary.
Further anniversary activities would be held in Otaru in July and Dunedin in October.
A strong feature of the conference would be presentations from young people who had taken part in youth exchange visits to sister cities, he said. Among them were Divya Dhar, recently named Young New Zealander of the Year, and Dunedin composer Corwin Newall.
The two-day conference, which starts on Thursday at the Otago Museum, is being held in Dunedin for the first time.
It was a chance to showcase the city and its Chinese and Scottish roots, Mr Duff said.
"We're taking them to the Chinese garden and the formal dinner is being held at Larnach Castle. We're deliberately holding it on a Thursday and Friday so that delegates can stay on for the weekend and see more of what Dunedin has to offer."
