Subcommittee recommends five‑year contract extension for Phoenix Sister Cities

The Economic Development and the Arts Subcommittee recommended a five‑year contract extension for Phoenix Sister Cities on Nov. 12 after a presentation describing the program’s international delegations, business attraction work and youth and education exchanges.

Rita Marco, president and CEO of Phoenix Sister Cities, told the subcommittee the office organized about seven outbound delegations over the last five years and received several inbound trade missions, including two from the EU and recent delegations focused on advanced manufacturing and tech. Marco said the program facilitates business links, cultural events and youth exchanges and cited a memorandum of understanding between Aju University (Suwon) and Arizona State University law programs as an outcome of sister‑city work.

Eric Johnson said the department is asking for the subcommittee’s recommendation to enter a new five‑year contract so Sister Cities can continue its trade, cultural and education work. Johnson introduced Joseph McEwen as the incoming international relations administrator and said the department is grateful for Marco’s leadership.

"We have hosted roughly 7 outbound delegations over the last 5 years," Marco said, and she pointed to examples such as Prague and Catania where business components accompanied cultural exchanges. Councilmembers thanked Marco for the work; Councilwoman Stark and Councilman Robinson described commercial benefits for Phoenix businesses who have participated in sister‑city initiatives.

Councilwoman Pastor made the motion to approve the contract recommendation, which was seconded and carried with unanimous 'aye' votes from members present.

The subcommittee’s recommendation moves the item forward; the presentation emphasized continuity of international outreach and an emphasis on attracting foreign direct investment through targeted delegations and soft‑landing business support.