Atlanta hosts International Economic Development Summit

The Atlanta Sister Cities commission is hosting an international summit this week. CONTRIBUTED

The Atlanta Sister Cities commission is hosting an international summit this week. CONTRIBUTED

The Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, in partnership with the Brookings Institution, is hosting the inaugural Atlanta International Economic Development Summit, a three-day summit on economic development best practices with partnering cities across the globe. The summit which runs through Sept. 8 brings together an intimate group of 50 thought leaders and economic development professionals from Atlanta’s sister and partnering cities to discuss the importance of city-to-city cooperation and how it can be leveraged to create economic development opportunities.

Representatives from participating cities including Cape Town, South Africa, London, UK, Montego Bay, Jamaica, Paris, France and Ra’anana, Israel will participate in the summit. At the end of the three-day event, MOIA will launch an online platform which will enable this global network of cities to exchange contacts, trade and investment leads, industry needs, upcoming trade events and more.

MOIA also hosted a city tour that included stops at the Women’s Entrepreneurship Initiative, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Ponce City Market and Tyler Perry Studios.

Since July 2013, the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs has worked to strengthen the mission of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission whose purpose is to increase efficiency and focus on economic development initiatives. New programming, including the first sister city startup exchange program, has been established to align with this renewed purpose.

The summit has been made possible with the support of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Invest Atlanta, the Center for Civil and Human Rights, the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission and the Metro Atlanta Chamber.

Information: www.atlantaga.gov