The German city of Bonn is to enter into a solidarity partnership agreement with Kherson focused on humanitarian aid to the people of Kherson and assistance in rebuilding the infrastructure. The administration of the municipality of Bonn made a corresponding proposal to the city council.

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

“Establishing a partnership with Kherson signals proactive solidarity. It is especially important for us to involve the people of Bonn in the development of the partnership,” said Katja Dörner, Mayor of Bonn.

In January, Kherson appealed to the mayor of Bonn with a request for support and a wish to establish partnership relations between the cities.

“As a German city of the United Nations that stands for democracy, freedom and the rule of law in the world, part of European and international city networks, we would like to fulfil this wish,” said Katja Dörner.

The official signing of the solidarity partnership agreement will facilitate submitting applications for financing municipal recovery programmes as well as further supporting the efforts of many people, organisations and institutions that provide assistance to Ukraine in Bonn.

On 25 October 2022, German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a joint call for the formation of a German-Ukrainian inter-municipal partnership at a meeting in Kyiv.

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.