Sister city partnerships and sustainable development in emerging cities: Empirical cases from Ghana and Tanzania

Abstract

Across the Global South, many cities have forged sister city relationships with their peers across the world. In sub-Saharan Africa, the majority of sister city partnerships are with European and North American cities. The paper argues that although sister city partnerships have gained currency in southern cities, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, empirical evidence about their contribution to sustainable urban development remains patchy, thus needing attention. The paper further argues that the literature on North-South paradiplomacy involving emerging cities is lacking as scholarship on the subject is overly skewed in favour of the large and mega cities. Drawing mainly on qualitative interviews, observations, secondary data, and internet sources, the paper assessed the nature of North-South sister city partnerships and their contribution to sustainable development (SD) in emerging cities using the experience of Toledo-Tanga and Ieper-Wa sister city partnerships. The findings reveal that, the partnerships' initiatives in areas such as water and sanitation, education, healthcare, culture, environmental sustainability, recreation and local economic development align closely with specific SDG targets, illustrating how international municipal cooperation can contribute to the achievement of the global sustainability agenda. This alignment also underscores the relevance of the SDGs as a guiding framework for sister city partnerships. By pitching sister city partnerships against SD, the paper introduces an environmental dimension to the existing theoretical stance which only considers the cultural, social, and economic dimensions of sister city partnerships. Finally, the paper provides policy and practical recommendations for the promotion and application of sister city partnership as a strategy for achieving SD in the Global South.