Sister Cities

Sister Cities Program

Sister Cities International was created at President Eisenhower’s 1956 White House summit on citizen diplomacy, where he envisioned a network that would be a champion for peace and prosperity by fostering bonds between people from different communities around the world. The goal of the Sister Cities program is to create and strengthen partnerships between the U.S. and communities around the world through local government cooperation, cultural understanding and economic development activities.

History

Established in 1981 by the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners and administered by the Miami-Dade County International Trade Consortium (ITC), the Sister Cities Program serves as a strategic platform to advance bilateral trade, foreign direct investment, and cross-border economic cooperation. What began as a framework for cultural exchange has evolved into a powerful engine for business development, market access and international partnership building.

Today, Miami-Dade County maintains Sister Cities relationships with more than 30 cities across South America, Central America, the Caribbean, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Through these partnerships, the County leverages its global gateway position to facilitate trade missions, investment attraction, sector collaboration and government-to-government engagement. The Sister Cities platform has become a cornerstone of Miami-Dade’s global strategy—turning international relationships into measurable economic opportunity.

For more information, please download the Sister Cities Infographic or email [email protected].