No.105 Establishment of Inagi City Sister and Friendship Cities Exchange Association

At the inaugural general meeting to be held on September 27, 2020, the “Inagi City Sister and Friendship Cities Exchange Association” will be established.

So far, Inagi City has concluded a sister city relationship with Ozora Town (then Memanbetsu Town) in Hokkaido in November 1991, and in August 2015 Soma City in Fukushima Prefecture and Nozawaonsen Village in Nagano Prefecture in November of the same year. has signed a friendship city agreement with Next year, we are preparing to conclude a sister city relationship with Foster City, California, USA.

The progress since the partnership with Memanbetsu Town and the establishment of this exchange association are as follows.

In 2015, the "Inagi City Friendship City Tie-Up Review Citizen Conference" was set up, and after visiting Soma City and Nozawaonsen Village, they were asked to consider a friendship city tie-up. It will also be an opportunity to review Inagi City from a broader perspective.In the future, I would like you to consider partnering with overseas cities.” Based on this proposal, Soma City and Nozawa Onsen Village entered into a friendship city affiliation, and set up the "Inagi City Overseas Sister City Tie-Up Citizens Conference" to exchange opinions on exchange projects with overseas cities. We agreed to do

In 2016, the "Inagi City Overseas Sister City Citizens' Conference for Consideration" was set up, and after continuing the study, it was decided that "the role of providing information on exchanges and providing opportunities for exchanges would be fulfilled, and that civic exchanges would be actively promoted." It is necessary to launch a citizen-led organization that will be responsible for sister city and friendship city exchanges both in Japan and overseas.”

Based on this proposal, from 2017 to 2018, the "Inagi City Sister City / Friendship City Exchange Association Establishment Preparatory Committee" was set up to consider the organizational structure and business content. , the domestic exchange committee, the international exchange committee, and the regional exchange committee should cooperate with each other.”

In 2019, the "Inagi City Sister and Friendship Cities Exchange Association Operation Preparation Committee" was set up centering on the members of the establishment preparation committee. We were able to make it to the inaugural general meeting this time because the preparations were advanced and the management system and management method after the establishment were decided. I would like to express my gratitude to the many citizens who have participated over the years and to the lively discussions on a wide range of issues.
This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has restricted the movement of people and people-to-people contact.

I hope that this exchange association, which was considered and launched with the participation of citizens, will achieve development through citizen-led management, and that the ties with sister cities and friendship cities will be further deepened.