Our Sister Cities

The Pittsburgh Region's International Partner Cities

Pittsburgh has 20 Sister Cities across the globe. Many of these relationships were formed in the 1970s, 80s, and 90s when our region looked very different than today. As were work to revitalize these relationships we will develop work plans for each partnership that will include measurable goals and outcomes. Below is a list of our region's most active Sister relationships.  

Da Nang, Vietnam

Pittsburgh has been sisters with Da Nang since 2008. This fruitful partnership has led to delegations visiting Pittsburgh from Da Nang and vice versa. 

In 2019, SCAP Board Chair Wolf and Mayor Peduto visited Da Nang, Vietnam. Outcomes of this trip included a desire to establish an educational exchange between Le Quy Don High School for the Gifted and Mt. Lebanon High School. Letters of Intent have been exchanged and we are working with both schools to facilitate exchanges between students. During this visit, Mayor Peduto met with the Chairman of The People's Committee of Da Nang City, Chairman Huynh Duc Tho, and city department heads wherein they exchanged learnings and reestablished the important Sister City relationship. Chairman Tho invited Mayor Peduto to attend the Chairman Tho's Mayors Forum, which was to be held in the coming years. 

In August 2019, SCAP hosted a delegation of ten city representatives from Da Nang to Pittsburgh. During this visit, members of the delegation met with the URA, CityParks, the Pittsburgh Technology Council, the Allegheny County Airport Authority, and Riverlife (there is a strong interest on behalf of the Da Nang delegation to learn how Pittsburgh is working to redevelop our riverfronts). 

Saitama City, Japan

Saitama City, Japan

Pittsburgh and Saitama City became sister cities in 1997. Since that time, we have hosted many delegations to and from Pittsburgh to Saitama City.

In May 2019, SCAP hosted a delegation from the Saitama City Foundation for Business Creation to meet with several Pittsburgh-based technology firms, including Philips Respironics, Conoco Services, and the Pittsburgh Technology Council. Of interest to the Japanese delegation was Pittsburgh's efforts to redevelop former industrial sites. The delegation toured Mill 19 to learn how our region has redeveloped the former industrial site and created a hub for technology companies. 

Building on the May visit, SCAP hosted an 18-member delegation in October 2019, which included members from the Japan External Trade Organization and the Saitama University Advanced Institute of Innovation Technology, Kaneko Solution and Imagination, Ohmura, Harves Co., Ltd., and Marelli to establish a formal MOU for future economic cooperation between Pittsburgh and Saitama City. 

Our Saitama City - Pittsburgh relationship also has an educational exchange focus. Pittsburgh will host high school children from Saitama City to come to Pittsburgh in summer 2021 to engage in two-week-long educational programming with a variety of local universities (Robert Morris, Pitt, CMU, Duquesne, Point Park) focusing on sports management, STEM, humanities, fieldwork and language, and cultural exchanges. This has now been rescheduled for 2021, and our goal is to introduce the students to the American university system to encourage them to come to Pittsburgh for their university education. This program is set to expand students from an initial group of 20 in 2021 to 160-200 students by 2023.

On August 8, 2020, Mayor William Peduto commemorated the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima by participating in a ceremonial bell ringing

Glasgow, Scotland

Glasgow is Pittsburgh's newest sister city, becoming partners on November 12, 2020, during a virtual signing ceremony. 

Click to watch the ceremony.

Glasgow and Pittsburgh have had a long-term relationship, focusing on the people, place, planet, and performance framework. Issues that we are addressing together and learning from each other include guaranteed income, climate action (including energy, transport, food, open space, buildings, and waste), and the need for equitable resources; health resources, and capacity building. Glasgow is hosting the 2021 United Nations Climate Conference (COP26) in November 2021, and the Pittsburgh – Glasgow Sister City partnership will feature predominately as an example of international relationship building, bilateral problem solving, and metro-to-metro idea exchange.  

Wuhan, China

Pittsburgh and Wuhan have a long and deep relationship. After becoming sister cities in 1982, a delegation from Wuhan visited Pittsburgh in 1999 and 2000. In 2000/2001 Wuhan sent a government official to work at the Urban Redevelopment Authority for 10 months to learn about local government operations. 

More recently, Sister Cities Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Chinese Cultural Center, and Brothers Brother Foundation sent PPE to Wuhan in the spring of 2020 as a gesture of international cooperation.

Sofia, Bulgaria

Pittsburgh and Sofia partnered in 1993 and recently reestablished the relationship through several conversations with the US Ambassador to Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Ambassador to the US, the Mayor of Sofia, and the President of the US-Bulgaria Chamber. We are working together to develop a work plan to guide our relationship and establish metrics to evaluate the impact of the relationship on Pittsburgh and Sofia. Issues of common interest include SMART Cities, traffic flow technology, and clean air initiatives. 

Bilbao, Spain

The Pittsburgh - Bilbao relationship started in the 1960s and was formalized in a signing ceremony on February 15, 1970. In October 2013, Bilbao sent Pittsburgh's delegation for the Remaking Cities Congress at the Remaking Cities Institute. This international event brought together professionals involved in the regeneration of post-industrial cities. Bilbao representatives worked with Remaking Cities to write and edit the Bilbao chapter in a book published by Carnegie Mellon University entitled "Remaking Post Industrial Cities." Since 2013 there have been multiple delegations to and from Pittsburgh, including a trip in 2017 to Bilbao organized by the Pittsburgh Technology Council and a trip in 2018 organized by the Sister Cities Association of Pittsburgh. Today Pittsburgh and Bilbao are working together to develop a work plan focusing on shared interest issues.

Dortmund, Germany

On September 9, 2022 Mayor Gainey and Mayor Westphal signed a MOU making Dortmund Pittsburgh's newest Project Partner City. The MOU focused on three topics of exchange, climate technologies, economy and administrative exchanges. Pittburgh and Dortmund have had a long relationship and we are jointly a part of two international exchange programs: the United Nations International Urban and Regional Cooperation program (IURC) and the Urban Diplomacy Exchange progam which is sponsored by the German government. 

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