The Texas Nationalist Movement has extended an invitation to the Catalan government to open a diplomatic mission in Texas.

The invitation comes in a letter from the TNM President Daniel Miller to the President of the Catalonia autonomous region, Artur Mas.

Earlier this year, the Catalan government announced that it would be dramatically increasing its foreign affairs budget and would be opening several new missions around the world. Catalonia already has missions in Austria, Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

In the letter, Miller congratulated Mas on giving “people around the world the opportunity to connect with the culture of Catalonia and to become engaged with its desire for self-determination and independence.”

Catalonia has been locked in a pitched political and legal battle over its independence with the Spanish government in Madrid that echoes a similar effort in Texas.

Miller states, “The invitation to the Catalan government is a natural step. For Texas to fulfill the words of Sam Houston and ‘stand among the nations’, it means creating dialog with other people, organizations and governments that are seeking self-determination for their countries.”