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Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates Date Established: March 2001, under Mayor Lee Brown
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Renee Catacalos (713) 227-3395
ABU DHABI JOINS HOUSTON’S SISTER CITY NETWORKHOUSTON (March 9, 2001) – City Council this week approved the establishment of a sister city relationship between Houston and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The Houston - Abu Dhabi Sister City Association becomes the fourteenth 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.
“The local community involved in this effort has been tremendous, and I believe this relationship will be beneficial for our City, both in terms of business development and cultural understanding,” said Mayor Lee P. Brown. “We already have exchange program ideas ready to go, we’ve just been waiting for the green light from the City,” said Houston – Abu Dhabi Sister City Association President Ellen Goldberg. “This is such a natural connection – our cities are comparable in size, both are major energy cities and a strong commercial relationship already exists. As sister cities, we now have a framework for more cooperation and dynamic programs among the various groups involved in Abu Dhabi.”
Goldberg pointed out that Houston companies including ABB Vetco Gray, Baker Oil Tools, Brown & Root, Inc., CRSS Intl., and Weatherford Intl. have offices in Abu Dhabi. In addition, Texas Children’s Hospital has an ongoing physicians program with the Ministry of Health of the U.A.E. and local colleges have plans for training exchange programs with Abu Dhabi.
“It’s always exciting to welcome a new sister city association to our ranks,” said Harry Gee, president of Sister Cities of Houston. “We are proud of the success of the grassroots-level exchanges these associations produce. Abu Dhabi will be a great addition to our program.” 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; Nice, France; Perth, Australia; Shenzhen, China; Stavanger, Norway; Taipei, Taiwan; and Tyumen, Russia. |
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Last Updated: September 6, 2005 
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