An agreement to officially establish sister-city status between Mon State’s capital of Moulmein and Indiana’s Fort Wayne in the United States was signed on Thursday.
A signing ceremony was held at Aung San Hall in the Mon State Government Office in Moulmein on February 4. In attendance were outgoing Chief Minister of Mon State, U Ohn Myint, state government officials and representatives from Fort Wayne Sister Cities International. The two cities’ governments have been working to achieve city sisterhood since 2012.
“The youth [from Mon State living in Fort Wayne] helped connect the two to become sister cities for the development of Mon State, and now it’s been successful. Today it is official that the city of Fort Wayne, in the state of Indiana, and the city of Moulmein in Mon State are sister cities. They [Fort Wayne] also have sister cities in other countries. If we link up with the other sister cities, Mon State will become broadly connected and gain footholds across the world,” said U Ohn Myint.
According to Dr. Toe Toe Aung, City Development Minister in Mon State, the agreement includes plans for cultural and commercial exchanges. Businesspeople, artists, and scholars from Moulmein City can now travel to Fort Wayne to share knowledge and experiences with counterparts there, he said.
“This matter of having sister cities in the U.S. and Burma has happened before. But now we must put this [achievement] in the historical record of Moulmein City. Both sides can benefit if we coordinate exchanges for business culture. Particularly, for business education. Our children will have opportunities to go to the U.S. and study there. The children from the U.S. also have the chance to learn about our culture and religion. The two countries have agreed to this for cooperation and benefits to both sides,” said Daw Min Myint Nan Tin, chairwoman of Fort Wayne Sister Cities International Moulmein Committee.
As part of the agreement, the two countries will initiate a youth exchange program in 2017. Participants under 21 years of age will be invited to visit and observe high schools and universities in each of the sister cities.
The population of resettled people from Burma in Fort Wayne has grown over the past decades, and there are more than 700 ethnic Mon residents. The city’s geography is similar to that of Moulmein, particularly for the three rivers that traverse the urban hub, and was described as a natural fit for Moulmein’s sister city.
Fort Wayne also has sister cities in Japan, Poland, China and Germany.
