The capital city of Ghana becomes Chattanooga’s first African sister city.
Chattanooga, Tenn. (April 16, 2024) – Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly today officially welcomes Accra, Ghana as Chattanooga’s first African sister city. The signing ceremony was held virtually with Mayor Elizabeth K. T. Sackey, the first woman to serve as mayor of Accra, and Kanika Wellington-Jones, vice president of the Sister City Association of Chattanooga.
Sister city relationships are voluntary diplomatic partnerships between two communities in two countries, usually focused on cultural exchange. The relationship is officially recognized after the highest elected or appointed official from both communities sign off on an agreement to become sister cities. Sister city programming and logistic work is done primarily by engaged citizens on a volunteer basis.
Chattanooga’s economy has increasingly benefited from international relationships, notably with Volkswagen but also BASF, GE Appliances, and Komatsu. According to the Times Free-Press, the Chattanooga region has landed more than $5 billion of new business projects from companies headquartered outside the United States in the last five years alone.
Accra joins Chattanooga’s other sister cities:
- Wuxi, China
- Hamm, Germany
- Wolfsburg, Germany
- Givatayim, Israel
- Nizhnii Tagil, Russia
- Tono, Japan
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