[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 179 (Thursday, December 10, 2015)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        SISTER CITY AGREEMENT BETWEEN COLUMBUS AND ACCRA, GHANA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOYCE BEATTY

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2015

  Mrs. BEATTY. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to ask my colleagues to join 
me in recognizing the signing of a sister city agreement between the 
City of Columbus and Accra, Ghana on November 30, 2015.
  This is Columbus' tenth sister city agreement, but it is momentous 
because it is the city's first such agreement with a city on the 
African continent. I was privileged to attend and participate in the 
signing ceremony between Columbus Mayor Michael Coleman and Accra Mayor 
Alfred Vanderpuije.
  Columbus, a diverse city, is home to nearly 10,000 people of Ghanaian 
descent and this partnership reinforces already firmly established ties 
between Columbus and Accra building economic, educational and cultural 
diversity between the two municipalities.
  I am also proud to inform my colleagues that Franklin University and 
The Ohio State University are working with educational institutions in 
Ghana to create even greater academic and cultural exchanges.
  As a City known for the Arts, Columbus' King Arts Complex is also 
working on a formal agreement to foster a relationship with the Ghana 
National Theatre.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend the cities of Columbus, Ohio and Accra, Ghana 
for this historic agreement and look forward to a long and prosperous 
partnership.

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