Vaughan reaffirms friendship with Sora, Italy

Mayor Del Duca and Council welcome Italian delegation to City Hall

Today, Mayor Steven Del Duca and Members of Council welcomed a 17-person delegation from Sora, Italy, to celebrate more than 30 years of friendship and modernize the Sora-Vaughan twinning agreement established in 1992.

The delegation, which arrived on Friday, June 2 and will stay in the Greater Toronto Area until Monday, June 12, is led by Sora Mayor Luca Di Stefano and includes councillors, city staff and entrepreneurs.

Today's agenda began with a tour of Vaughan City Hall, followed by an economic development technical briefing from Vaughan staff and a roundtable discussion. Finally, at a reception attended by Italian cultural associations and community groups, Mayor Del Duca and Mayor Di Stefano signed a renewed Expression of Friendship to advance the Vaughan-Sora relationship.

The Sora-Vaughan partnership is based on a strong connection through Vaughan's Italian community. Canadians of Italian origin have made and continue to make an extraordinary contribution to nation-building in Canada. The Italian-Canadian community represents more than 30 per cent of Vaughan's culturally rich and diverse population. In 2012, the City of Vaughan signed economic co-operation agreements with the Province of Milan and Rome, representing two of Italy's leading business centres. The City has formally signed Friendship and Twin City type agreements with Italian cities, including Sora (1992), Delia (1998) and Lanciano (2002). These social and cultural partnerships are maintained and strengthened through Vaughan's engaged and dedicated community groups.

QUOTE

"On behalf of my Council colleagues, I am pleased to welcome Mayor Luca Di Stefano and the delegation from Sora, Italy, to Vaughan City Hall. Today's gathering not only recognizes more than three decades of formal friendship between Vaughan and Sora, but also demonstrates a meaningful step forward in modernizing our cities' relationship. I was delighted to stand alongside Mayor Di Stefano to sign an Expression of Friendship and reaffirm our commitment to a continued pursuit of cultural and economic opportunities that benefits the individuals, families and businesses we proudly serve."

- Mayor Steven Del Duca

"I want to thank Mayor Steven Del Duca and all Members of Council for their warm welcome to the City of Vaughan. Since 1992, and with the help of strong and active local community cultural associations, our cities have maintained a beautiful friendship. I am pleased to reaffirm our relationship with the City of Vaughan. We are united in our goal to create opportunities that strengthen our cities' social and cultural fabric. We look forward to maintaining this great work."

- Mayor Luca Di Stefano

LEARN MORE

• Sora, Italy, is a town in the Lazio Region with a population of more than 25,000. The town is roughly 125 kilometres from Rome, Italy.
• Canada and Italy have a strong commercial relationship anchored by a free trade agreement. The Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement has been provisionally applied since Sept. 21, 2017.