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http://www.mysanantonio.com/business...8.12f2186.html

Chennai, India, joins S.A. family as sister city

Web Posted: 02/28/2008 07:53 PM CST

Sanford Nowlin
Express-News Business Writer

San Antonio has a new sister: Chennai, India.

Mayor Phil Hardberger signed a "sister city" partnership with Chennai officials late Wednesday as part of a 10-day trade mission to India by San Antonio leaders. The mission was aimed at strengthening ties with the world's second-fastest growing economy.

Under sister-city agreements, municipalities agree to promote economic, cultural and educational exchanges.

The agreement is San Antonio's eighth sister city relationship, and its first in 20 years. The last was with Kumamoto, Japan.

Chennai, formerly known as Madras, has a population of 7 million and is a hub for India's medical and software industries, making it ripe for business partnerships, Hardberger said during a phone interview Thursday.

"It's been a long time since I've been approached by so many businessmen handing me their cards and asking 'How can I do business in San Antonio?'" Hardberger said. "The interest was incredible."

Located on India's southeast coast, the city also is home to numerous colleges and universities, including the 300,000-student University of Madras.

Hardberger credited San Antonio's sister-city relationship with Kumamoto with laying the groundwork for Toyota Motor Corp.'s eventual decision to open its Tundra truck plant here. In time, he added, the relationship with Chennai could foster similar economic dividends for the city.