Belfast signs Sister Cities accord with Boston

Belfast today signed a Sister Cities agreement with Boston.

The agreement was signed earlier today (Monday 12 May) in Boston by Lord Mayor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir and Mayor Martin J Walsh.

The agreement is designed to foster stronger economic development, trade and investment, tourism, youth, cultural, faith based exchange and educational linkages between the two cities, and to increase awareness of both cities as being growth cities in the connected health and life sciences, creative industries, tourism, financial services and the knowledge economy sectors.

It commits both cities to identifying activities that can generate new initiatives to further nurture economic, social, cultural and faith based relationships, and to:

• promoting both cities to their respective business and academia sectors as locations for trade and investment;
• facilitating trade missions and business-to-business dialogue between the two cities;
• exploring and encourage cooperation and exchange between local development agencies, Chambers of Commerce and tourism bodies;
• helping facilitate faith-based exchanges between faith leaders in both cities;
• encouraging ‘study abroad’ programmes, and relevant research opportunities, between the cities’ respective colleges and universities;
• promoting mutual leisure and business tourism opportunities;
• encouraging cultural exchanges; and
• exploring joint policy development and sharing of best practice in the fields of urban development, regeneration and city financial models.

The Sister City agreement was jointly signed by the Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Máirtín Ó Muilleoir, and the Mayor of Boston, Martin J Walsh, at the Seaport Hotel in Boston at 0800 EST / 1300 BST today (Monday 12 May).

Belfast has two other Sister Cities – Nashville in the United States and Hefei in eastern China. The Agreements with these cities were signed in 1994 and 2005 respectively.