Sheffield extends hand of friendship to Nablus

Cllr Johnson, Cllr Hunt, the Lord Mayor and Cllr Mohammad signing the declaration

A Declaration of Friendship has been signed between the City of Sheffield and the City of Nablus on the West Bank in Palestine, at a virtual ceremony today (Tuesday 29^th October 2024).

The declaration outlines the intention of both cities to promote friendship, understanding and exchange experience and knowledge in different fields and areas, including education and environment. 

The agreement is a statement of intention and is not legally binding and will be reviewed every 12 months by both parties.

Councillor Jayne Dunn, Lord Mayor of Sheffield City Council, said:

“I am delighted that today we have entered into a Friendship Agreement with the City of Nablus.

“In recent years, our two cities have developed strong cultural and educational links and that is why we believe extending a hand of friendship is appropriate.

“I look forward to seeing what our two societies can learn from each other.”

In November 2023, Sheffield City Council’s Strategy and Resources Committee agreed on a Partner City Policy. In this policy, the Council committed to producing an annual review of all their relationships with international cities.

This review provided the Council with the opportunity to address any requests that had been made to establish relationships with Sheffield, with the only outstanding request coming from Nablus.

In the past five years, Sheffield and Nablus have already established cultural and educational links.

Going forward, connections will be developed in areas that both cities share similar aims and goals, including youth services and their sports offer.