GLOBAL INTEGRATION
Through diverse partnerships with several international cities and regions, Orange County has transformed into a global hub for tourism, healthcare, education, and technology.
SISTER CITIES
Orange County has sister city relationships with five international partner cities and regions around the world. The relationship becomes official with a signing ceremony among the top-elected officials of the two local jurisdictions.
Orange County’s sister cities include Las Heras, Argentina; Quindío, Colombia; Hart van Brabant, Netherlands; Medellín, Colombia; Taizhou, China.
Las Heras
Quindío
North Brabant
Medellín
Taizhou
Las Heras is a city in the province of Mendoza, Argentina, located north of the metropolitan area of the provincial capital. This is longest lasting sister city agreement that Orange County maintains. Established in 2001, both regions have continued to explore and develop exchange programs in the key industries they share.
- Date of agreement: July 1, 2001
- Key industries in sister city: Transportation, clean tech, manufacturing, medical, technology, and tourism.
Quindío is a department of Colombia. It is in the Western Central region of the country, crossed by the Andes Mountains and its capital is Armenia.
Quindío mirrors Orange County as they both have a well-developed tourism infrastructure that attracts both domestic and international visitors. Additionally, the region of Quindío seeks to become a software development hub by fostering the creation of business incubators, a concept that Orange County has successfully mastered. The sister cities agreement will facilitate an exchange of the best practices between both regions.
- Date of agreement: August 22, 2012
- Key industries in sister city: Tourism, automotive, agri-business, cosmetics and toiletries, and technology and services outsourcing.
North Brabant is a South Central mainland province of the Netherlands.
Orange County and the region of Hart van Brabant have diverse commonalities as they share the same key industries and objectives of attracting investment, cultivating innovation and promoting collaboration between education institutions. This sister city agreement has already enabled alliances between higher education institutions in Orange County and in the City of Tilburg.
- Date of agreement: November 13, 2012
- Key industries in sister city: Tourism, healthcare, life sciences, aerospace, and higher education.
Officially the Municipio de Medellín, is the second-largest city in Colombia. similar to Orange County, Medellín’s economy heavily relies on the tourism industry. Medellín is attractive to entrepreneurs and large corporations due to the region’s strides to become the innovation hub of South America. like Medellin, Orange County continues to be a seedbed for innovation and entrepreneurship allowing the region to diversify its economy. This sister cities agreement will foster opportunities for both regions to exchange best practices in their goal to becoming an innovation hub.
- Date of agreement: November 13, 2012
- Key industries in sister city: Services outsourcing, software and it, tourism, and manufacturing.
Taizhou is an emerging city along the eastern coast of Zhejiang Province. Taizhou and Orange County share similar key industries such as technology, tourism, life science and healthcare. This agreement focuses on healthcare as Taizhou is recognized as China's medical city. This agreement will offer a vast amount of educational opportunities between medical research organizations and hospitals in Orange County and similar institutions in Taizhou.
- Date of agreement: January 16, 2013
- Key industries in sister city: Transportation, clean tech, manufacturing, medical, technology, and tourism.
Directory of Consulates
Consuls represent their respective countries in the area. They are the central point of contact for all trade, cultural and diplomatic liaison between their country and the local community. Directory of Consulates.
Central Florida International Trade Office
Founded in 2014 with the generous support of Orange County Government and J.P. Morgan Chase, the Central Florida International Trade Office (CFITO) provides a single location to connect with a variety of trade resources in Central Florida!
Our region is home to over 2 million residents, and represents a vibrant business community and a climate that is bathed in sunshine. We receive over 65 million visitors per year, and are conveniently located in the “I-4 Corridor” between Port Tampa Bay and Port Canaveral.
Orlando is really in the center of it all!
The CFITO resides in the National Entrepreneur Center which houses a variety of business support organizations to serve our business community.
Our office is designed to accelerate the access and activity for companies interested in trade in Central Florida including Brevard, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, and Volusia counties. Metro Orlando is dedicated to strengthening Central Florida’s position as a world-class center of international trade, in a region that already hosts the largest number of visitors in the United States.
By accelerating access to our existing resources, providing relevant connections, highlighting our region’s superior infrastructure, and emphasizing our collaborative approach to business development, the Central Florida International Trade Office is well positioned to engage international trade opportunities for both the importers and exporters who wish to do business in Central Florida.