The agreement was signed by Mr. Andualem Tenaw, Director General of Ethiopian Cities Association and Mr. Sithole Mbanga, Chief Executive Officer of South African Cities Network (SACN), on the occasion of the ‘World Metropolis Urban Summit’.

The signed MOU includes areas of cooperation on knowledge generation, knowledge dissemination and peer to peer learning on urban development issues and city management. Besides, the two organizations agreed to formalize a relation between them in various development planning areas in line with their mandates.

During the occasion Mr. Andualem Tenaw highlighted the importance of the agreement for both countries. He also stated that this agreement marks a new era of cooperation between Ethiopian and South African cities. He also remarked that both parties are excited to share their experiences and learn from each other on issues such as urban planning, sustainable development, and municipal service delivery.

Ethiopian Cities Association and South African Cities Network will expect that this partnership will strengthen their capacities to address the urban challenges facing their cities and to promote sustainable development. This MOU is also expected to improve the relationship between the two countries and to create more opportunities for cooperation in different sectors.

The South African Cities Network was established in 2002 as network of the country’s large cities and partners and Ethiopian Cities Association was established in 2009, during the first Ethiopian Cities Week event and it is an alliance of 86 Ethiopian cities working towards improving the living conditions of the urban Ethiopian population.