Dublin has a twinning agreement with five cities as of this morning.
Dublin City has been twinned with the Palestinian city of Ramallah under a new "city to city friendship agreement".
On Thursday morning (7 December), Dublin City Council confirmed that the friendship agreement had been formally signed by both the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, and the Mayor of Ramallah, Issa Kassis.
In a statement about the twinning, the Lord Mayor of Dublin said:
“I very much welcome the signing of this friendship agreement between our two cities. The cities of Dublin and Ramallah agree that both of us will work together to examine issues of common interest and to look for areas of future cooperation.
'The aim of this friendship agreement is to contribute to the strengthening of friendly relations between our two cities.”
Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste and Mayor of Ramallah Issa Kassis at the signing of the friendship agreement.
Dublin City Council has listed areas of possible mutual interest between Dublin City and Ramallah as "climate action, sustainable transport/active travel, municipal services in particular waste management and smart cities".
"Following a report to the Dublin City Council Protocol Committee in June 2023, it was agreed to proceed with the signing of the Friendship Agreement. Subsequently the Breviate of the Protocol meeting was adopted at the 6th November 2023 Dublin City Council Meeting," the council also wrote.
"The signing of a formal twinning agreement facilitates the setting up of a long term, trusting relationship. Its form and content are not fixed and may be amended depending on the specific nature of the partnership that is being set up according to partners’ wishes.
"Twinning can seek to strengthen or develop common interests or express solidarity between the people of the two cities. There may be opportunities to work on problem solving or develop innovative solutions with partners around key challenges."
Ramallah becomes the fifth city that Dublin has a twinning agreement with, following San Jose in the US (1986), Liverpool (1997), Barcelona (1998) and Beijing (2010).
A number of visits to Palestine by councillors and staff from Dublin City Council have been held over the past ten years.
These include in 2017 by Lord Mayor Brendan Carr, in 2018 by Ardmhéara Mícheál Mac Donncha and in 2022 by Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland.
This article originally appeared on JOE
Header image via Dublin City Council via Fennell Photography
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