City-Friendship between Bremen and Pune
A city friendship between Pune and Bremen has been existing since 1976 focussing particularly on development cooperation. The city of Pune is located in the state of Maharashtra, about 170 km southeast of Mumbai and has about 4 million inhabitants.
In August 1998 and in Novmber 2003 Bremen and Pune both signed a Memorandum of Understanding which determined the focal points of the town-twinning. The parties intend to join their efforts for a sustainable development, in line with the local Agenda 21. This commitment links in with economical cooperation borne to a large extent by partner organizations in Germany and India. The association for town solidarity Bremen – Pune which was founded in 1976 contributed significantly to the close relations between these cities and is, even today, actively nurturing the cooperation between Universities, academies, museums, hospitals and other facilities in Pune and Bremen and are most committed to bringing together the people from both countries.
A special highlight of this city friendship was the unveiling of a bust of Mahatma Gandhi on the December 13th, 2010, on the 30th aniversary of the Bremen - Pune town twinning. The mayor of Bremen, Jens Böhrnsen, the Indian ambassador, Sudhir Vyas, as well as various representatives were present on this occasion.
