Three new sister-cities committees were established last week with the responsibility of promoting the affiliations between Georgetown and its sister cities of St Louis in the U.S., Havana in Cuba and Fuzhou in the People’s Republic of China. According to a release from City Hall, Mayor of Georgetown Hamilton Green who formally launched these committees identified education, culture, economics and commercial trade as the key areas of focus in the promotion of the international relationships.

He noted that city diplomacy should not be limited to the superficial protocol of exchanging visits between mayors, rather emphasis should focus on a variety of ongoing and extensive interaction among people.

The committees are comprised of prominent members of civil society, including the spouses of ambassadors, academicians, business and religious leaders, and tourism officials.

Georgetown established sister-city relations with St Louis in December 1989, and with Havana and Fuzhou in November 2001 and March 2003 respectively.

Meanwhile, City Hall is also seeking to resuscitate dormant sister-cities relationships with Ottawa, Caracas and Pyongyang, the release added.