Vaasa signs partnership agreement with the City of Kherson

The agreement was signed by the Mayor of Vaasa, Tomas Häyry, during the visit of the Deputy Mayor of Kherson, Vitalii Bielobrov, to Vaasa on 14 December, 2023. The agreement aims to establish a friendly relationship of cooperation, bilateral relations based on equality and trust, reciprocal benefits for the citizens of the cities, and peace. The partnership is intended as an expression of solidarity.  

The themes chosen for cooperation are sustainable development, youth, education and science, culture and sport, city administration, and democracy. To ensure close cooperation in the chosen areas, the two cities want to, among other things, support exchanges and meetings between officials and residents. 

 – The original purpose of town twinning and sister cities was created after the Second World War to promote peace between nations. Town twinning has clearly declined in recent decades, but the crisis in Ukraine has again highlighted its importance. Vaasa and EnergyVaasa see clear areas of cooperation in post-war civil administration and building energy infrastructure, alongside culture and youth work,” says Mayor Tomas Häyry. 

Kherson was under Russian occupation from March to November 2022, until Ukrainian troops liberated the city. The city, which has suffered extensive damage in the war and is recently under daily shelling, therefore needs a lot of support in rebuilding. 

– We need all the help we can get, which is why in recent weeks we have signed several partnership agreements with European cities. It is also nice to see that both Vaasa and our long-time twin city Kiel have decided to help us together as much as possible,” said Vitalii Bielobrov, Deputy Mayor of Kherson. 

The City of Vaasa, under the direction of Mayor Häyry, has been negotiating a partnership agreement with representatives of the City of Kherson since spring 2023. Vaasa City Board approved the proposal for the new cooperation on Monday 4 December.