锡卡索大区是马里的第三行政大区，位于马里南部，面积7万多平方公里，占马里国土的5.66%，大区内南部为丘陵，中部和北部是平原，有桑卡拉尼河、巴戈埃河、巴乌莱河和第一巴尼芬河四条主要河流。居住着塞努福族、米尼昂卡族、博博族、波耳族等，各族人民和睦共处。丰富的水利资源为锡卡索大区的农业、林业、畜牧业发展提供了优越的条件。锡卡索大区自然条件优越，农产品丰富，是棉花基地。锡卡索大区不仅拥有悠久的历史，而且当地多民族交融的地域文化颇有特色。作为巴拉丰木琴的发源地，锡卡索大区每年一度的巴拉丰木琴文化节，总会吸引许多来自周边几个国家的音乐家们与马里本土艺人同台竞技、大显身手，如今已成为马里与邻国文化交流领域的一大盛事。

云南省与锡卡索大区于1990年11月24日正式缔结友好省区关系，成为云南省第一对省级国际友城。自结好以来，双方在高层互访、农业领域展开了友好交流与合作。上世纪90年代，云南省向锡卡索赠送了优质稻种、抽水泵、太阳能灯和蒿甲醚注射液。两省还就水稻栽培，茶叶种植、加工、销售，甘蔗种植、加工，单晶硅太阳能电池合作等方面进行了有益探讨。

Sikasso Region, the Republic of Mali

Located in the south of the country, Sikasso Region is the third largest administrative region of Mali. Sikasso boasts a land area of more than 70,000 square kilometers, accounting for 5.66% of the nation’s total. Geographically, the region is flat in the center and north while hilly in the south, with four major rivers running through, namely the Sankarani River, the Bagoé River, the Baoulé River and the Banifing River. People from a variety of ethnic groups, including the Senufo people, the Minianka people, the Bobo people and the Fula people, etc., form a harmonious coexistence in the region. Sikasso enjoys abundant water resources that provide superior support for the region’s development in agriculture, forestry and livestock farming. Endowed with ideal natural conditions, the region produces abundant agricultural products and is a well-known center for cotton farming. Sikasso is also marked by a long history and an exceptional culture formed by the fusion of various ethnic groups. As the birthplace of Balafon, Sikasso hosts the annual Triangle du balafon, a music festival that constantly attracts musicians from Mali’s neighboring countries to compete against the locals and showcase their musical talents. The Triangle du balafon has become a major cultural event facilitating the cultural exchange between Mali and its neighboring countries.

Sikasso and Yunnan officially became friendship provinces on November 24, 1990, making Sikasso Region Yunnan’s first ever overseas friendship province. Since the establishment of the friendly relationship, the two sides have seen expansions in friendly exchanges and cooperation in high-level visits and agricultural issues. High quality rice seeds, water pumps, solar lights and artemether injections were among Yunnan’s gifts to Sikasso in the 1990s. The two sides have also engaged in beneficial discussions on cooperation in rice cultivation, tea cultivation, processing and marketing, sugar cane cultivation and processing, and single-crystalline-silicon solar cells manufacturing, etc.