Sister cities of Toronto are cities with which Toronto is twinned geographically and politically, with the goal of fostering human contact and cultural interchange. Relationships The city maintains two types of relationships with other cities, partnership and friendship. Partnership cities are selected by city staff, with a focus toward economic development. Friendship cities activities are proposed by the community and endorsed by a member of Toronto City Council. Partnership cities Chicago, Illinois, United States (1991) Chongqing, China (1986) Frankfurt, Germany (1989) Milan, Italy (2003) Friendship cities Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2006) Kyiv, Ukraine (1991) Quito, Ecuador (2006) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (2015) Sagamihara, Japan (1991) Warsaw, Poland (1990) Formation of relationships Toronto's city council considers requests to form relationships with other cities through its International Alliance Program. The criteria for both Partnership Cities and Friendship Cities were adopted by council December 5–7, 2005. Forming a relationship is primarily dependent on budget constraints of the Economic Development Committee, the municipal office which administers the program. Proposals for new relationships are requested by city staff, of their own volition or on behalf of a third party. These proposals are analyzed for political and financial impact, and a recommendation is then presented to the Economic Development Committee. Principles for new relationships In order to prevent spurious proposals, cities that are candidates for a relationship with Toronto must satisfy the following conditions: there can be no more than one relationship in any region the candidate city cannot have a relationship with another Canadian city community groups must raise funds to support exchanges with Friendship Cities to which they have committed the federal government must have a relationship with the country in which the candidate city is located Proposals for new candidates are submitted to the General Manager of Economic Development; all proposals are analyzed and compiled into a yearly recommendation which coincides with the city's budget process. Criteria for Friendship cities To be considered for Friendship City status, a candidate city must fulfill the following criteria: it must be sponsored by a member of Toronto City Council it must be co-sponsored by an individual, group or association in the community that will assume responsibility for all activities with the Friendship city it must have support from the candidate city with respect to community interest and participation it must be a community of interest, with active support in Toronto and the Friendship city it