Minneapolis City Council Approves New Sister City In Somalia

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minneapolis City Council voted Thursday afternoon to approve a new sister city relationship with Bosaso, Somalia.

Minneapolis is the first city in America to forge such a relationship with a city in Somalia.

The council adopted a resolution that noted Minneapolis had the largest Somali-American community in the nation, and that establishing a relationship with Bosaso would open up a number of economic and cultural connections.

The proposal was approved unanimously, according to reports.

The proposal adds the port city to Minneapolis's large list of sister cities, which includes places such as Tours, France; Ibaraki, Japan; Uppsala, Sweden; and Najaf, Iraq.

With an estimated 700,000 residents, Bosaso is also one of the more populous on the list. Harbin, China and Santiago, Chile are the largest metro areas with which Minneapolis has established a sister city relationship.