TOLEDO, Ohio —
For the first time ever, Toledo welcomed the mayor of Hyderabad, Pakistan to strengthen its connection with its sister city in the east.
Mayor Kashif Shoro had the chance to explore everything Toledo has to offer from education to the arts.
Despite the distance, the two cities already have a lot in common – at least in name.
"Hyderabad is a Glass City of Pakistan. Toledo is a Glass City of the U.S.A," said Anwer Ali, vice president of Toledo Sister Cities International, who also served as a translator for Shoro.
Shoro said having sister cities allows them to build stronger relationships when it comes to culture and business.
"He's trying to promote all and bringing people here, promoting exchanges, bringing investments here, taking people there for tourism and all those kinds of stuff," Ali said.
As part of his visit, Shoro spent Wednesday at the Toledo Museum of Art, saying his city shares Toledo's appreciation for art.
Eventually, he'd love to see artists from his Glass City work with artists in ours.
"When you have a sister city relationship, you are cultivating the brotherhood and people are becoming more tolerant, more diversified, so they can understand the culture and they can be a better human being," Ali said on behalf of Shoro.
He is also working with universities in northwest Ohio to build opportunities for students in both cities through exchange programs.
He said it's a chance for students to explore cultures outside of their own.
"People-to-people relationship is more everlasting and more enduring as compared to country-to-country relationship because party comes, politicians come, they go, but the people stay there forever."
Eventually, Shoro hopes both glass cities extend beyond education.
"Hyderabad lays on the Indus River. Indus Valley civilization is one of the oldest, dated 5000 BC. He's working with Destination Toledo, promoting tourism between the two countries," Ali said.