From The Boston Globe

The mayors of Boston and Praia, the capital of Cape Verde, sat at a 10-foot-long mahogany table in City Hall discussing ways to strengthen the economic, social, and political relationships between their cities, separated by the Atlantic Ocean but connected through their people.

Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Mayor Ulisses Correia e Silva agreed that the two communities must work together on decreasing violence in Boston and Praia, increasing opportunity for small and midsize businesses, and tapping into the growing political muscle of a community that for years has been more associated with gun violence than political activism.

“The Diaspora is very important; it is an important factor for the development of Cape Verde,” Correia e Silva said before the meeting about a community in New England that is almost as large as the population of the West African Island nation, about 500,000 people.

Walsh is taking “a different approach here in Boston than my predecessor” by looking beyond the city’s borders to create economic growth. “It’s important for the city to have relationships with other countries, particularly those countries that have a large population here in Boston,” Walsh said.

Written by Akilah Johnson/Read more at The Boston Globe