Singapore will set up a consulate in Chengdu, capital of southwest China's Sichuan Province, this year, making it the sixth foreign consular body in the city.

The Foreign Affairs Office of the Sichuan provincial government said on Wednesday the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Singaporean Embassy in China had agreed on opening the consulate.

The consulate, with the consular district confined to Sichuan, will provide visa and other services.

The consulate will be the fifth Singaporean consulate in China, after Hong Kong, Shanghai, Xiamen and Guangzhou.

Edmund Chua, regional director of the Greater China, Singapore Tourism Board said recent years had seen an increasing amount of tourist traffic between Singapore and Sichuan.

"The consulate in Chengdu will boost the cooperation and exchanges between Singapore and Sichuan on tourism, promoting market development in west China," he said.

Sichuan Province was trying to persuade more countries to establish consulates or offices in Sichuan, said the Foreign Affairs Office. The U.S. Consulate General was established in 1986, and Germany and the Republic of Korea opened consulates in Chengdu in November 2004 and February 2005 respectively. Thailand set up a consular office in April 2005. A consulate of France is planned.

Source: Xinhua