The Salvadoran Ambassador Milena Mayorga announced today that El Salvador and the city of Lugano have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Economic Cooperation. The announcement was made during the first day of Tether’s inaugural Plan ₿ forum in Lugano, Switzerland.

Expected goals of the partnership include enhancing cooperation in education and research between El Salvador and Lugano, supporting initiatives to drive the adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies across their respective regions, and fostering the exchange of students and talents between El Salvador and Lugano.

“We want to congratulate both the city of Lugano and El Salvador for this exciting news. Today, the dream of financial democratisation took a big step towards reality with Lugano and El Salvador entering into an official partnership of economic inclusivity and financial freedom,” said Paolo Ardoino, CTO of Tether. “We commend the pioneers leading Lugano and El Salvador for launching this initiative, which promises to foster the exchange of best practices and ideas regarding the power of cryptocurrency, and we at Tether stand ready to help however we can.”

Here's what Mayor Michele Foletti of Lugano and Ambassador Milena Mayorga said about the news

“Lugano is a land of innovation and opportunity, and today’s historic announcement regarding our partnership with the great country of El Salvador is great news for believers of financial freedom and the power of cryptocurrency,” said Michele Foletti, Mayor of Lugano. “This joint endeavor will benefit the citizens of both Lugano and El Salvador as we continue to work towards a more inclusive global economy.”

“I am so pleased to have been able to announce this history-making partnership between the innovative city of Lugano and my beloved home country of El Salvador. We share a love for innovation and bold ideas, and this initiative will be a game-changer in the exchange of ideas and best practices in economic freedom,” said Milena Mayorga, Salvadoran Ambassador to the United States. “My fellow Salvadorans and I are very excited by the promise of Bitcoin, and I look forward to seeing how this initiative will help increase access to economic security and economic freedom for all, one of the main goals of President Nayib Bukele's government."

Tether and the city of Lugano announced the Plan ₿ initiative in March of this year, with technology company Polygon joining as a key infrastructure partner for Tether. With the goal of making Lugano a center of excellence for blockchain adoption in Europe, Lugano has adopted Bitcoin, USD₮, and LGVA, the city’s stablecoin, as legal tender.

In April of this year, Tether announced a relief fund with El Salvador dedicated to helping Salvadoran families impacted by gang violence. Tether has sponsored a number of initiatives to drive access to cryptocurrency for people across El Salvador, including supporting the country’s forthcoming Adopting Bitcoin conference. Since adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, El Salvador’s tourism has seen an increase of 30%.