Gondar City has been formally selected to be a sister city to Montgomery County, Maryland

Amir Abdulla
June 17, 2011

Montgomery County, Maryland, USA Officially Selects Gondar, Ethiopia as a sister City
Therefore, the selection of Gondar, Ethiopia was based on these criteria, Montgomery County-Africa Sister City Committee arrived here is the copy of the letter that is part of the approval Read it it is worth it..this link is the approval letter... http://aigaforum.com/news/Gondar_Sister_City_Approval_Letter.pdf


OFFICES OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE

Isiah Leggett Timothy L.

Firestine County Executive Ch:'efAdm1'm'strative Qfiicer

Montgomery County Sister Cities Board Members,

Five months ago, you gave the Afiican Affairs Advisory Group the task to select one country and one cityin Africa to be Montgomery County’s first Afirica Sister City. These were the steps we required all the localAfrica communities in Montgomery County who wanted their cities in Africa to become the first SisterCity with Montgomery County. The African Affairs Advisory Group developed a questionnaire forcommunity groups and sent representatives to community meetings in order to explain the criteria listedbelow. Therefore, the selection of Gondar, Ethiopia was based on these criteria, which help theMontgomery County-Africa Sister City Committee arrived to the finial decision.1. The Ethiopian Community was the first to schedule a community meeting and encourage as many people(Diaspora and friends off) to come and be apart of the process.2. When the meeting was scheduled, the Ethiopian Community invited a member from the MontgomeryCounty - Africa Sister City Committee to attend and went over the criteria.3. The questionnaires in support of Ethiopia were filled out at the community meetingsMONTGOMERY COUNTY SISTER CITIES BOARD SELECTION COMMITTEE CRITERIAThese are the Montgomery County Sister Cities Board selection criteria and the African Affairs AdvisoryGroup assessed through the five months process, that the Ethiopian Community met these criteria also.l. Ethiopia has a substantial ethnic presence in the County and are ready to partner with the county.2. The Ethiopian Community is ready for a Long Term Relationship3. The Ethiopian Community is ready to obtain appropriate governrnent approvals in Ethiopia to partnerwith the Montgomery County Sister Cities Organization4. The Ethiopian Community has outlined identifiable benefits in the areas of Culture, Education, andEconomic Development for Montgomery County and Gondar, Ethiopia.5. The Ethiopian Community has the capacity and accountability needed for both financial and on sitemonitoring, which are very important for any project agreed uponThe African Affairs Advisory Group is proud of the work that was done by the Ethiopian StudentAssociation and gladly recommends Gondar, Ethiopia to be Montgomery County’s first Africa Sister City.