St. Louis welcomes new sister city

ST. LOUIS, Mo. (First Alert 4) - St. Louis has officially welcomed Kigali, Rwanda, as its newest sister city.

On Monday, First Alert Forward reported that St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer was joining a delegation of more than 35 local business owners and civic leaders for a visit to Africa to network with entrepreneurs and government officials.

READ: First Alert Forward: St. Louis delegation travels to Rwanda and Kenya to build trade ties

World Trade Center St. Louis, which led the trip, announced on Tuesday that a signing ceremony had been held to establish sister city status between St. Louis and Kigali.

“This is an incredible opportunity for both of our cities, and I am thrilled Kigali is officially our 17th Sister City,” said Mayor Spencer. “St. Louis has benefitted from the strong cultural understandings and innovations that grow out of our Sister City relationships. St. Louis has always seen itself as a global city, and I look forward to the many relationships and connections we will build here.

Becoming sister cities means that the two have agreed to collaborate for the mutual benefit of their communities through exploring economic, educational and cultural opportunities.

“Kigali and St. Louis may be thousands of kilometers apart, but we share a common ambition: to build cities where people thrive, and opportunities grow,” said Samuel Dusengiyumva, mayor of the City of Kigali. “Through this sister-city agreement, we want to bring our communities closer, exchange knowledge and experiences and explore new opportunities for cooperation. We believe this partnership will create lasting value for the people of both cities.”

The Rwandan capital is now the 17th sister city of St. Louis.