Houston-Karachi Sister City Relationship Born

“The Houston-Karachi Sister Relationship will help People of the World to see the Good Image of Pakistan & Muslims:” Syed Mustafa Kamal

Mayor Syed Mustafa Kamal Addressing City Of Houston Council After The Signing Sister Cities Relationship.

Houston & Karachi Are Now Sister Cities: Signing at City Hall & Banquet at Wortham Hall

The Honorable Mayors Bill White (Houston) and Syed Mustafa Kamal (Karachi) signed a “Sister Cities Agreement” at the City Hall in Houston on Tuesday – March 03, 2009. An evening before this signing, the Houston-Karachi Sister Association under the leadership of Haroon Shaikh, CPA, hosted a dinner for the distinguished guests and dignitaries of the Greater Houston Region at the beautiful Wortham Center in Downtown Houston.

The City Council approved the establishment of a Sister City Relationship between Houston and Karachi, Pakistan, earlier last month. The Houston-Karachi Sister City Association becomes the seventeenth in a network of “citizen diplomacy” relationships for Houston, under the umbrella of Sister Cities of Houston. And Karachi is the 100th Muslim City in the overall Sister City Relationship between the Muslim World and USA.

“I encourage citizens of both our great cities to participate actively in the Karachi-Houston Sister City partnership. By engaging in reciprocal trade missions and exchanges, businesses and people can benefit. It is an exciting opportunity,” said Houston Mayor Bill White.

“Due to her strategic location as gateway to Middle East, Central-&South-East Asia, the City of Karachi provides a lucrative opportunity for all the people of the world. We hope the other Sister Cities of Houston will not feel bad, since we as the newest Sister, will be engaging Houston the most, since we do not want this relationship to be just cosmetic: We want to make it mutually beneficial for the inhabitants of Karachi and Houston. Karachi is the largest City of the Muslim Ummah and face of Pakistan. We in Karachi will demonstrate our worth to the world with our contributions to the resolution of contemporary problems of metropolis around the globe and that will illustrate to people across the globe the significance of Muslims and Pakistanis,” said Karachi Nazima-e-Aala (Mayor) Syed Mustafa Kamal.

“The Sister Cities relationship between Houston and Karachi is quite meaningful for me. I have the special privilege of knowing the beauty and benefits of both the city I grew up in, Karachi, and the city I have made my home, Houston,” said Houston City Council Member M.J. Khan. “The synergy between Houston and Karachi is very strong and the Houston-Karachi Sister City relationship will prove to be a model partnership,” he added.

“The Houston-Karachi Sister City Relationship is supported in both cities by organizations in a variety of fields, including trade, healthcare, education, and transportation,” said Haroon Shaikh, President of the Houston-Karachi Sister City Association. “We are excited to begin new exchanges with Karachi and will be looking to recruit additional volunteers and corporate members for the sister city association,” he added.

The Houston International Protocol Alliance, a department of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau, serves as the City’s administrator of the sister cities program.  Houston has sister city relationships with Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.; 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 Houston International Protocol Alliance at 713-227-3395 or visit www.sistercitiesofhouston.org

Throughout its history, Sister City Programs have responded to rapidly changing global needs and realities. Today, Sister City Partners engage in a vast array of mutually beneficial, innovative and meaningful projects, including: Arts and Culture; Business and Economic Development; Disability Awareness; Education; Emergency Preparedness; Environment; Healthcare; Humanitarian Assistance; Municipal Training; Public Safety; Women in Leadership and Youth Involvement.

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