German Mayor commemorates golden jubilee of Mumbai-Stuttgart

Stuttgart Mayor Fritz Kuhn today called on his Mumbai counterpart Vishwanath Mahadeshwar and BMC commissioner Ajoy Mehta to explore the mutual cooperation possibilities between the two cities.
Kuhn's visit was a part of the bid to celebrate the golden jubilee of the "Sister City Relationship" between Mumbai and the German city.
He was accompanied by a 130-member delegation.
Kuhn and the visiting members inspected the disaster management unit in the civic headquarter in south Mumbai.
They are expected to meet several eminent personalities from the fields of politics, education and research, and business, during their week-long stay in the country's financial capital.

Addressing a joint press conference with Mehta, both the mayors vowed to work together in various fields like urban mobility, infrastructure, technology, start-ups etc.

"It is a great moment that we are now celebrating the golden jubilee of the relationship between the two cities. There is an immense scope of mutual operation for both the cities through which our people can understand one another in a better way and can work together to fulfil mutual aspirations," Mahadeshwar said.
Kuhn invited the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) group leaders to visit Stuttgart city.
Kuhn, accompanied by his wife Waltraud Ulshofer, said both the cities share an old bond to cherish and have an immense potential for investment.

"We want to discuss specific issues like energy system, water pollution, and different aspects of the smart city.
"Stuttgart is the economic powerhouse of Germany and so is the Mumbai of India. We are very strong in the fields of technology, engineering, research and development, besides in the area of social service," he said.
Terming 50-years of the sister city relationship as "very successful", Kuhn said, "In these years, we have exchanged in different areas like school and university education, urban development, architecture as well as in the cultural fields. Like startups in India, we too have startups in Stuttgart and we invite young people to come there and set up their venture."

He also said that several German companies want to invest in Mumbai and Maharashtra.
Mehta said there are several fields where we can borrow from Stuttgart.
"However, we are looking forward for their cooperation in the fields like clean air, clean water and sewerage treatment plants," the civic chief said.
Arul Klutt, then Mayor of Stuttgart--the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Wrttemberg--had visited Mumbai in 1968, which paved the way to have the sister city relationship between the two cities.