By Lewis S. Teh
A two-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Monrovia City Corporation and Houston City in the United States to start a fresh partnership agreement.
The signing ceremony took place Thursday, 28 April 2022 at the MCC when the Monrovia city government hosted delegates from the United States, representing the Houston Atlanta Trade Mission.
Giving the purpose of the mission here, the head of delegates and Honorary Consul General for Liberia in the State of Georgia, Ms. Cynthia L. Blandford, said, they are in Liberia to form a partnership agreement with business associations, and other institutions to foster growth and development.
According to her, she is overly excited about the signing of the MOU, noting that it means a lot to the city of Houston and Monrovia.
“The purpose of this visit is to establish a relationship with the Liberia business association, we concluded another MOU with the National Port Authority where we were excited about the increasing trade between Liberia and Georgia. Today, we are looking for an opportunity to establish this relationship between Monrovia and Houston; this has been the reason for our coming”, Ms. Blandford said.
For her part, representing the mayor of Houston a member of the Houston city council Dr. Carolyn Evans Shabazz said it was an honor for her to have represented the mayor of Houston to execute the duties given to her.
Reading a brief statement, Dr. Shabazz said Houston and Monrovia signed the MOU for the purpose of strengthening working relationships and increasing trade in both cities will develop ideas and promote mutual exchange.
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“This is desire to understand and explore credentials and collaborate with across various fields including agriculture, energy, education public works, trade, and cultural exchanges to the benefits of both citizens”
She said both parties agree to consider opportunities and explore proper corporation, adding, therefore, let’s it be known that the city of Houston and the city of Monrovia have mutually involved their interest to examine opportunities and build stronger ties that will last for two years.
Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee extended heartfelt gratitude to the U.S. delegation for taking up time to travel to Liberia.
“We want to specifically thank our friends from the United States, we hope that the signing of this MOU will bring great progress to our city and the country at large”, said Mayor Koijee.
He thanked his counterpart in Houston for the collaboration, noting, “I’m not surprised to see this happening; during my recent visit to the United States, I had a discussion with the mayor of Houston, and he promised that our two cities will get into an agreement and today this is happening.”
Koijee praised the city of Houston for having a deep sense of diversity. He said the city hosts people of diverse backgrounds, and it’s most likely that Monrovia will be no different from Houston.
According to Mayor, the agreement will provide both cities the opportunity to promote a strong working relationship and exchange information and expertise in the areas of marketing, operation, training, and infrastructure development, among others.
Recently, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed to renew a long-standing partnership agreement between the National Port Authority (NPA) and the Georgia Port Authority (GPA).
The signing ceremony took place Tuesday, 26 April 2022 in Monrovia when the NPA hosted delegates from the United States, representing the Houston Atlanta Trade Mission. Editing by Jonathan Browne
