Mayor Bobby Bourke was joined by councillor Jess Jennings, member for Calare Andrew Gee and Bathurst Business Chamber representative Angus Edwards on Thursday for the signing.

It was then sent to Cirencester for their counterparts to sign.

The signing of the MOU officially recognises the mutual benefits that can be gained through a cooperative program promoting exchange activities and international understanding.

It will also explore opportunities for the collaborative development of research, the organisation of joint academic, cultural and artistic activities, the exchange of research and teaching personnel and students, the exchange of business and commercial interest and such other collaborative activities.

READ MORE: Bathurst sister city: Sign agreement with Cirencester, says Cr Jess Jennings

Cr Bourke said the pandemic had hampered plans to grow the relationship with Cirencester, but the two cities stayed in touch.

"There was an opportunity to go over there this year, that did not eventuate due to COVID-19, but the ties are still strong," he said.

"We still have our Zoom meetings and catch-ups, the visitor information centre has a lot of good products of Cirencester and they are selling pretty well down here, and they do have products from Australia, our wines and that over there, and they tell us that is going well there.

"It's a very difficult time for Cirencester now; they're in their winter, they've got Brexit going on, no deals and deals, but the deal we're doing today is solid. It will continue on for a lot, a lot of years."

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Although the ink is still fresh, the relationship with Cirencester goes back years.

Lord and Lady Bathurst visited Bathurst in 2015 and Cirencester student Alice Chandler came to the city for several weeks in 2018.

READ MORE: Cirencester students want to follow in Alice's Bathurst footsteps

Cr Jennings, who has been pushing to grow the relationship between Bathurst and Cirencester, was pleased to be able to sign the MOU.

"We saw it would be better to get this done sooner rather than later, particularly before Brexit occurs on December 31 and also before the free trade agreement between the UK and Australia is formalised," he said.

"Now we've done that, we're in a position to actually start connecting our communities for economic exchange, cultural exchange, tourism, education and all sectors of both economies have opportunity to benefit."

Mr Gee congratulated Bathurst council on pursuing the relationship with Cirencester, saying sister city agreements are a good thing for regional areas.