By a broad political majority on February 9, the Duisburg City Council approved a solidarity partnership with the Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih.

This was reported by the official website of the city of Duisburg.

“For more than a year, people in Ukraine have been going through unbearable suffering. Through a solidarity partnership, we send a signal that we stand with the Ukrainian people. We want to help the people of Kryvyi Rih,” said Lord Mayor Soren Link.

The website of the German city reports that, just like Duisburg, Kryvyi Rih is home to heavy industry as well as a research and cultural centre of the region. These are great similarities that will accompany the cities in their further exchanges and assistance.

The joint partnership will be signed online on 21 February 2023.

“At the end of October 2022, Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy called to connect the cities to the network. The city of Duisburg answers this call, hoping that it will be able to provide targeted support to the people and the city administration on the ground,” the message reads.

On the same day, February 9, another German city — Bonn — with the support of the local city council, decided to establish a solidarity partnership with the Ukrainian city of Kherson.

Decentralization reminds that municipalities of Ukraine can use the International Municipal Partnership Guidelines to build communication with foreign municipalities and enter into twinning agreements. These Guidelines offer algorithms and practical advice on establishing a partnership, cases of successful partnerships, practical advice on customs clearance and accounting of various types of assistance that partners can exchange, information on how to choose partners, how to organise the work of competent professionals or division, as well as information on financing, bookkeeping and reporting and a lot of other useful information.

Based on these Guidelines, the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine developed the Partnership for Recovery and Development section of the Decentralization national portal, with the support of DECIDE (Decentralisation for Improved Democratic Education), a Swiss-Ukrainian project, and the U-LEAD with Europe Programme.

These Guidelines are based on the methodology of the Council of Europe, City to City Cooperation, and developed by the Council of Europe as part of the Programme “Decentralisation and Public Administration Reform in Ukraine” at the request of the Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine.