About Seattle Sister Cities

Seattle is proud to be a leader in promoting and developing sister city relationships with many international communities. Our program has a strong 60+ year history of connecting Seattlites to the world and shaping Seattle’s global image. Each of our sister city relationships is managed by an independent 501(c)(3) non-profit association. Each nonprofit organizes programs, activities, and cultural exchanges with local Seattle residents and friends around the world. The City Council passed a resolution in 1996 adopting a moratorium on new sister city affiliations due to limited city resources and the desire to support the quality of itsexisting sister city programs.

Seattle is paired with: Be’er Sheva, Israel; Bergen, Norway; Cebu, Philippines; Chongqing, China; Christchurch, New Zealand; Daejeon, Republic of Korea, Galway, Ireland; Gdynia, Poland; Hải Phòng, Vietnam; Kaohsiung, Taiwan; Kobe, Japan; Limbe, Cameroon; Mombasa, Kenya; Nantes, France; Pécs, Hungary; Perugia, Italy; Reykjavík, Iceland; Sihanoukville, Cambodia; Surabaya, Indonesia; and Tashkent, Uzbekistan. 

More about Seattle’s Sister Cities can be found on the City of Seattle website.

Seattle at Sunset
About Sister Cities International

In 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower founded Sister Cities International, which serves as the national membership organization for over 570 sister cities, counties, and states across the United States with relationships in 2,300 communities in 150 countries. This sister city network unites citizen diplomats and volunteers who work tirelessly to promote peace and understanding through programs and projects focusing on education, youth, arts and culture, and humanitarian assistance. Sister Cities International celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2016. 

More information can be found at: sistercities.org