The mayors of Tallinn and Helsinki renew the twinning agreement News
In addition, the mayors agreed on common policies and discussed town-twinning.
Mayor Vartiainen did not take office until August last year, meaning Friday is the couple’s first opportunity to meet, while the last meeting of the mayors of the two capitals was held more than two years ago, before the pandemic.
Mayor Kõlvart said: “Two years have passed since my last face-to-face meeting with my Finnish colleague, and due to the Covid pandemic, the business meetings had been online. The situation in both cities has changed a lot since then with the energy and refugee crises.”
“In today’s discussions with my Finnish colleague, it is really not possible to get around the discussion about what cities are doing to alleviate the crisis and what are the ways to help Ukraine,” Kõlvart continued.
“Today, more than ever, strengthening cooperation between neighboring cities to address the region’s competitiveness and common challenges is essential. Renewing the note is a clear indication of this,” he added, according to a city government statement.
The new memorandum will be signed at a meeting in Helsinki on Friday.
The Memorandum of Understanding emphasizes co-operation in the fields of climate and sustainable development and the creative industries, as well as continuous co-operation on innovation and improving the competitiveness of the twin cities of Tallinn and Helsinki.
Kõlvart added: “We agree with the mayor of Helsinki that combining the economic, material and human resources of the two cities can multiply the region’s innovation potential and make it one of the leading economic centers in the Baltic Sea region.”
The previous memorandum of understanding expired at the end of last year, and its results were discussed at a meeting of mayors last May, when it was decided to reform the co-operation framework and agree on an action plan to launch joint co-operation projects and activities.
The priorities for cooperation between the twin cities of Tallinn and Helsinki are to increase competitiveness and visibility in order to attract talent, tourists and companies to the region, cooperation in digital and information management, development of smart and climate-neutral mobility and transport solutions, and climate cooperation and sustainable development.
A more detailed action plan for the implementation of these areas will be drawn up once the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation projects and cooperation has been signed.
The action plan is an open document that leaves room for new actions, initiatives and projects, as co-operation between Tallinn and Helsinki is wide-ranging and takes various forms – for example, exchanges of officials, joint cultural events, co-operation in EU-funded projects, etc.
Mihhail Kõlvart will also participate in a tourism press conference at the Estonian Embassy in Finland and meet with the Ambassador while in the Finnish capital.
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