August 7, 2015     

 

Mayor John Tory today signed a protocol agreement formalizing a friendship city relationship between the City of Toronto and Rio de Janeiro. Rio de Janeiro Mayor Eduardo Paes signed the agreement on August 5.

 

"This agreement will help Toronto have representation in rapidly growing Brazil and provide opportunities for economic development, investment attraction and trade promotion. This will help Toronto companies enter other markets and attract investment from Rio to Toronto,” said Mayor Tory.

 

"The co-operation between Rio and Toronto will promote and facilitate our exchange of knowledge," said Mayor Paes. "As friendship cities, we will work together toward achieving development related to social, economic and environmental goals."

 

At the signing, Mayor Tory was joined by Mayor Paes's representative, Pedro Paulo Carvalho Teixeira, the Secretary of Government for the City of Rio de Janeiro, and by José Vicente de Sá Pimentel, the Brazilian Consul General in Toronto.

 

City of Toronto representatives at the signing included Councillor Ana Bailão (Ward 18 Davenport), Council's representative for the Rio de Janeiro relationship; Councillor Michael Thompson (Ward 37 Scarborough Centre), Chair of the City's Economic Development Committee and Invest Toronto; and Councillor Cesar Palacio (Ward 17 Davenport), Council's representative for the Quito, Ecuador relationship.

 

Rio de Janeiro becomes the 10th city in the City's International Alliance Program. The program maintains and grows business-oriented relationships with these cities in order to strengthen economic, cultural and multicultural links internationally and to share best practices. These city relationships are based on demographics, economic growth and social similarities, GDP, and the potential for export and trade development.

 

More information about the International Alliance Program and how the City helps business is available at http://www.toronto.ca/business. 

 

This release is also available on the City's website: http://bit.ly/1PbCPLl

 

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

 

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Media contact: Shane Gerard, Strategic Communications, 416-397-5711, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.