On December 18th, 2019 Honourable Mayor Mr. Jacob Bundsgaard and CEO City Manager, Mr. Niels Højberg signed on behalf of Aarhus Municipality a partnership agreement with the European Union International Urban Cooperation (IUC) India program.

By signing this agreement, Aarhus Municipality will further engage with the partner City of Udaipur and develop a Local Action Plan on a mutually agreed area of cooperation and exchange best practices focusing on water/wastewater management. This cooperation builds on the ongoing successful cooperation between Udaipur and Aarhus as part of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs strategic sector cooperation.

Through this programme, the City of Udaipur will align its smart city targets pertaining to sustainable urban development with international best practices and will experience sustainable benefits for the city.

On this occasion, Mr. Jacob Bundsgaard, Mayor of Aarhus said: “Aarhus places a high priority on promoting the UN’s sustainable development goals – both locally and globally, wherever possible. One example of this is the fruitful collaboration that has developed between Aarhus and Udaipur in the area of water management, drinking water supply and wastewater. With this signature, this collaboration will be expanded to include EU IUC, which means that there will be even more expertise and resources to draw on. This new collaboration will strengthen our joint efforts to achieve the sustainable development goals. We look forward to that.”.

Dr. P. Karamanos, IUC/India Team Leader stated: “We are delighted to welcome Aarhus as one of the IUC project cities. We place great importance in further strengthening the on-going partnership between Aarhus and Udaipur and building on the ongoing work as part of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs strategic sector cooperation. Our objective is to reach tangible outcomes based on policy and technology contributions.”

IUC programme
The IUC programme boosts cooperation on sustainable urban development between EU cities and partner cities in India, East Asia, North and South America. IUC/India, is part of the corresponding global IUC Programme. It is financed by the European Union, and implemented by a consortium of GFA Consulting Group GmbH (leader) and CRISIL. Through the programme, local leaders will connect and gain new perspectives on pressing sustainable urban development issues. EU and Indian cities are paired based on common priorities and development interests, allowing both parties to build cooperation and share knowledge. Representatives from both cities will attend exchange visits and will together develop a local action plan to drive the cities' sustainable urban development.

About the European Union (EU):
The EU, which consists of 28 countries, has the world's largest economy and its third largest population, after China and India. Though richly diverse, the countries that make up the EU (its 'Member States') are all committed to the same basic values: peace, democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights. They have set up common institutions so that decisions on matters of joint interest can be made democratically at European level. By creating a frontier-free single market and a single currency (the euro) which has been adopted by 19 Member States, the EU has given a significant boost to trade and employment. It is also at the forefront of policies on sustainability.

EU-India relations: For Over 50 years the EU and India have worked together to reduce poverty, prevent disasters, expand trade, and promote joint research in energy, health, agriculture and many other fields of mutual interest. More information at: http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/india

For more information contact Mr. Ashish Verma, IUC/India, averma@iuc-india.eu