September 1, 2022

Welcome! Bienvenidos! 欢迎

We want to welcome you to the Mesa Sister Cities website.  We hope that you will take a moment to learn about us and the work that we do.  We are a part of Sister Cities International, which President Eisenhower founded in 1956, and Mesa Sister Cities has taken to heart the mission of citizen diplomacy.  Our mission is to promote peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation—one individual, one community at a time– this is the directive at the heart of our work. 

Last year, we were proud to commemorate the signing of Mesa’s first sister city, Guaymas, Mexico, in 1981 and the subsequent 41 years of exchange, connection, and friendship that have grown out of that initial sister city relationship.  The bonds we’ve built with our five sister cities worldwide have helped shape Mesa into the welcoming, global city it is today.

Mesa Sister Cities is a partnership between the City of Mesa, Arizona, and the Mesa Sister Cities Association.  For 41 years, the Mesa Sister Cities program has developed meaningful relationships with its Sister Cities.  Mesa has five sister cities: Guaymas, Mexico, Burnaby, Canada, Caraz, Peru, Upper Hutt, New Zealand, and Kaiping, China.  The Mesa Sister Cities program has shown the importance of respect and cooperation between cultures that sometimes seem worlds apart.  Each exchange we participate in enriches our community, and those of our Sister Cities, culturally, economically, and socially.

In an increasingly connected world, our international relationships contribute to the cultural exchanges and potential economic partnerships that place Mesa on a global stage.  As we continue to grow and attract the attention of communities across the globe, I am proud that Mesa is a welcoming and inclusive place ready to do business with the world.  I know that participating in the Mesa Sister Cities program can help strengthen the foundation for cooperation, respect, and social trust between ordinary citizens across international borders and lead to extraordinary things.

We hope you will join us and become a member of Mesa Sister Cities.  Come and join us in our efforts to citizen diplomacy in promoting peace through mutual respect, understanding, and cooperation—one individual, one community at a time.

Best wishes,

Chris Glover