Massachusetts and the Azores Autonomous Region are now “sister states.”
Gov. Deval Patrick and Azores President Carlos Cesar signed an agreement making Massachusetts and the Azores, an autonomous region of Portugal about 1,000 miles off that country’s coast, trade, investment, technology and academic partners.
The state has similar agreements with provinces in Japan, South Africa and Switzerland. State government officials said the agreement with the Azores could benefit tourism and fisheries on both sides of the Atlantic.
Patrick and Cesar signed the agreement Saturday in Fall River, the center of the state’s Portuguese population. Both men stressed the strong cultural and historical ties between the Azores and Massachusetts. Cesar initiated the agreement after a Massachusetts trade delegation visited the islands.
