Partnership Maintains Commitment to Promoting Maryland’s Horse Industry Abroad ANNAPOLIS, MD – Maryland Secretary of State John Wobenmsith was joined by Minister Xueyuan Xu from the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China as well as Maryland Deputy Secretary of Agriculture Julie Oberg, and Ross Peddicord, Executive Director of the Maryland Horse Industry Board, to sign […]

    The Maryland Sister States organization hosted a delegation for the Hauts-de-France region of France, including François Decoster, the vice-president of the region. During the course of the four-day trip, the group explored Maryland universities, met industry professionals, and discussed areas of cooperation for the two regions. These areas include cybersecurity, international trade, university […]

Two prominent members of MD Sister States, Mendy Nitsch and Ardath Cade, were awarded the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS) Medallion Award. The NASS Medallion Award was created to honor individuals, groups or organizations with an established record of promoting the goals of NASS. Cade and Nitsch were recognized for their service to […]

The Office of the Secretary of State’s Maryland Sister States Program and the Maryland Horse Industry Board had the honor of hosting a delegation of representatives and officials from the embassies of France, Japan, Mexico, and New Zealand at the latest premier sporting event to call Maryland home: the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill. […]

Maryland’s distinctive relationship with Estonia was celebrated with the dedication ceremony of the Tartu Friendship Pedestrian Bridge on Oct. 1st in Salisbury, Maryland. Named in honor of Salisbury’s Sister City, Tartu, Estonia, the bridge is located on West Market Street in Downtown Salisbury. The ribbon-cutting and dedication ceremony featured remarks from Salisbury Mayor Jake Day, MD […]

The Japan Day Fall Festival/Akimatsuri was celebrated on October 10th at the Meeting House, in Columbia, MD. Japan Day reflects the strong ties between Maryland and the Japanese community within it, as well as the thriving Sister State partnership of Maryland and Kanagawa Prefecture. This program was organized by Dr. Tomoko Hoogenboom, Chairperson of the […]

Interested in Japanese traditional or pop-culture? Learn more and celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Maryland and Kanagawa Sister State relationship at the Japan Day Fall Festival! Presented by the Maryland and Kanagawa Sister State Committee along with UMBC, Misako Ballet, Matcha Time Cafe, and Baltimore and Kawasaki Sister City, Japan Day will be a […]

The Sister States of Maryland was in attendance at the Maryland Association of Counties (MACo) Summer 2021 conference. MACo is a non-profit and non-partisan organization that serves Maryland’s counties by articulating the needs of local government to the Maryland General Assembly. The Maryland Sister States Program was able to connect with current local partners and […]

On April 17th, Maryland was overjoyed to receive over 100,000 masks from our Sister State Anhui Province China. Our International Affairs Division worked extensively with the Anhui Foreign Affairs Office, Maryland Emergency Management Agency and Maryland-Anhui Sister State committee to make this happen. I would like to extend a heartfelt thank-you to the Anhui Provincial Government, Anhui Equestrian Association, Dangshan County, U-Play Factory […]

This year marks the 15th Anniversary the Maryland Sister States Legislative Reception. Sister state relationships are significant in an age in which state and regional governments have an increasingly greater role in events. By giving access to policymakers, the people-to-people contacts of the Sister States Program add a human dimension to governmental interaction. They help […]