Sterling Heights and Ankawa Officially Become Sister Cities

Ankawa Mayor Ramy Noori Awdish and Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor signing the Sister City agreement.

The CCF has facilitated a sister city relationship between Sterling Heights, Michigan and Ankawa, a city in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Sister City agreements are meant to be long-term partnerships that foster an environment in which economic and community development can be implemented and strengthened. This historic partnership aims to foster cultural exchange, economic collaboration, and mutual understanding between the two cities.

An official event coordinating the signing of the agreement was conducted by Sterling Heights Mayor Michael Taylor and Ankawa’s Mayor Ramy Noori Awdish on September 13. These two cities share much in common, including both having a large population of Chaldean residents. The resolution comes after months of discussions between community leaders in Sterling Heights and representatives from Ankawa. The next steps will involve the formation of a project team that will lay out a roadmap for the sharing of knowledge in culture, business and education as well as working toward building out a curriculum assessment and teacher exchange program along with remote learning opportunities at the college level to ensure students and teachers can give and receive unique experiences and perspectives.