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Cities are engines of national and global growth and generate around 80% of global GDP. Cities need to attract global capital and simultaneously address socio-economic inequalities. In acknowledging that local government is at the centre of a changing world, the City of Johannesburg in South Africa advocates and supports the internationalisation of local concerns at a global level that fosters increased investment, tourism, knowledge generation, service delivery best practice, cultural exchange and city branding. I thus welcome and support the initiative of PHARE to professionalize the internationalization of local governments”