The City of Savannah and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly from Ghana signed a partner city agreement on Wednesday, Feb. 21, at City Hall.

The virtual signing ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth K.T. Sackey, the Mayor of Savannah, Van R. Johnson II, as well as other dignitaries representing both cities.

Accra and Savannah, which have a long-standing shared vision for a sustainable, inclusive, and diverse future, will establish a formal partnership through the agreement which will encourage the exchange of information and cooperation in various sectors including history, culture, urban planning, education, environmental justice and protection, healthcare, tourism, communications, and trade and investment.

“This incredible agreement is years in the making, and we are excited to finally partner with our friends in Accra, Ghana.” Mayor Van R. Johnson II said. “As an international city, our international partnerships strengthen cooperation between our cities and citizens, acknowledging the history and culture we share while building towards a better future together.”

The agreement outlines a number of priorities which the two cities’ leadership pledge to collaborate on including the establishment of friendly relations and improved knowledge between citizens of the two regions.

World Trade Center Savannah, a proactive international business and trade development organization that helps businesses in southeast Georgia grow internationally, identified Ghana as a strategic target market for trade and foreign direct investment opportunities in Africa. These initiatives combined with a business trade mission to Accra, Ghana, in April 2023 for the World Trade Centers Association (WTCA) General Assembly helped spur the creation of the Greater Savannah Ghana Alliance with Mayor Van R. Johnson II’s leadership. The goal of the Greater Savannah Ghana Alliance is to foster effective communication, meaningful relationships and a community approach to partner-city exchange between Savannah and Ghana.

“As we celebrate the MOU between Savannah and Accra, we acknowledge the pivotal role played by the 2023 WTCA General Assembly (GA) hosted by WTC Accra. This gathering served as the culmination of years of effort to establish a genuine partnership between these two cities, further advancing the great work that has been ongoing. The discussions and meetings during last year’s GA, now named the Global Business Forum (GBF), were instrumental in cementing their mutual goals,” said John E. Drew, Chair, WTCA Board of Directors. “We are greatly encouraged by the establishment of such connections at our events, as they align perfectly with WTCA’s mission of connecting businesses globally. We hope to see more of these relationships blossom, yielding mutual benefits for all involved parties.”

This milestone marks the efforts of two decades of exploration and support in part facilitated by community stakeholders and WTCSav. World Trade Center Savannah is a member of WTCA, a global network of more than 300 World Trade Centers in nearly 100 countries, which has been instrumental in promoting trade and investment opportunities between Ghana and North America.