
Wednesday July 5, 2023
Mogadishu (HOL) -The mayors of Galdogob town in Somalia's Puntland Regional State and Columbia Heights, Minnesota, in the United States, signed an agreement to twin the two cities following an event held in the United States on Tuesday.
The Mayor of Galdogob, Abdifatah Sheikh Ibrahim, participated in the meeting remotely through Zoom, while the Mayor of Columbia Heights, Amada Márquez Simula, attended the meeting in person and officially signed the twinning documents.
Twinning cities is an agreement between two communities living in different areas that are geographically and politically different but aiming to develop cultural and commercial relations.
Ayanle Mohamed Jama, the project's coordinator, told HOL that he and the Americans living in the Columbia Heights area are working together to develop and connect different communities. They discussed twinning their city, Columbia Heights, with other towns in Somalia and ultimately chose Galdogob.
Mayor Amada Márquez Simula of Columbia Heights expressed her happiness that the Mayor of Galdogob and the city community could connect on Zoom. She added that she was honoured to sign the twinning contract and be a part of it.
Minnesota has twinned its cities with two cities in Somalia, Minneapolis and Bosaso, as well as the capitals of St. Paul, MN, and Mogadishu. The twinning agreement was signed by the late former Mayor of Mogadishu, Eng Abdirahman Yarisow, with St. Paul, MN.
However, Ayaanle Mohamed Jama and his committee have promised to expedite the development of Galdogob and Columbia Heights.
Columbia Heights is a small suburb northeast of Minneapolis with a significant Somali and Muslim population.