TEHRAN – The Iranian city of Isfahan and the Uzbek city of Samarkand have signed a sister city agreement, IRIB reported on Friday.

A sister city, or twin town, relationship is a form of legal or social agreement between two geographically and politically distinct localities for the purpose of promoting cultural and commercial ties.

While there are early examples of international links between municipalities akin to what we call today sister cities or twin towns dating back to the 9th Century, the modern concept was first established and adopted worldwide during the Second World War.

By signing the agreement, a platform for cultural cooperation and tourism activities will be provided for Iran and Uzbekistan, Qodratollah Noroozi, the mayor of Isfahan, said.

Isfahan plans also to sign sister city agreements with Porto in Portugal and Hyderabad in India, he added.

Norouzi went on to say that the twinning agreement between the cities is not only for municipalities' cooperation, but, all relevant institutions, including universities, chambers of commerce, and other centers, can start their activities under the agreement.

Isfahan and Samarkand can use their commonalities, historical monuments to represent the cultural interactions between Iran and Uzbekistan, he stated, adding, the joint production of books, music, video, and virtual contents to introduce sister relationship and encourage the citizens to visit the other city are other notable programs.

Samarkand's Mayor Bobumirza Oblakulov, for his part, said that cooperation between the two cities that share the same religion and worldview will lead to the development of international relations between the two countries.

Isfahan is a member of 9 networks of world cities and has so far signed sister city agreements with 13 cities of Xi’an, Kuala Lumpur, Freiburg, Florence, Havana, Lahore, St. Petersburg, Yash, Barcelona, Yerevan, Dakar, Baalbek, and Kuwait.

FB/MG