HOUSTON (August 1, 2003) - Houston City Council this week approved the establishment of a sister city relationship between Houston and Luanda, Angola. The Houston-Luanda Sister City Association becomes the sixteenth in a network of "citizen diplomacy" relationships for the City, under the umbrella of Sister Cities International. Houston has more sister city relationships than any other city in Texas. "Luanda is one of the major trade cities on the African continent," said Mayor Lee P. Brown. "It is a center of commerce and shares Houston's entrepreneurial spirit. Citizens and businesses in both cities will greatly benefit from this partnership."

"Linking Houston to Luanda as sister cities demonstrates the strong relationship being forged between our cities and will allow for greater synergies across many different areas," said Ken Evans, interim director of the association, who spearheaded the community effort to establish the sister city relationship. "The Houston - Luanda sister city relationship is supported by organizations in a variety of fields, including healthcare, education, and transportation. We are excited to begin exchanges with Luanda and will be looking to recruit additional volunteers and corporate members for the sister city association," he added. "The relationship with Luanda is a great addition to Houston's sister city program, giving our community the opportunity to have a deeper understanding of Angola," said Harry Gee, president of Sister Cities of Houston, the umbrella organization for Houston's sister city associations. "We are pleased to have Luanda as our newest sister city."

The volunteers of Houston's 16 sister city associations undertake dozens of programs every year. Some focus on shared cultural bonds, others seek to strengthen economic ties, still others focus on resource and information sharing. The Associations also seek to educate Houstonians about their sister cities through local programs that promote a broader understanding of our international communities. The Houston International Protocol Alliance, a department of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, serves as the City's administrator for the sister cities program. Houston currently has sister city relationships with Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Baku, Azerbaijan; Chiba, Japan; Grampian Region (Aberdeen), Scotland; Guayaquil, Ecuador; Huelva, Spain; Istanbul, Turkey; Leipzig, Germany; Luanda, Angola; Nice, France; Perth, Australia; Shenzhen, China; Stavanger, Norway; Tampico, Mexico; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tyumen, Russia.

For more information about Houston's sister city program, please contact the Houston International Protocol Alliance at 713-227-3395.

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