The City of Cape Town has recently welcomed a high-level delegation from the City of Aachen, that was led by Lord Mayor Sibylle Keupen, as part of the ongoing Cape Town-Aachen Partnership. It has approached its 25th anniversary, and is continuing their long-standing collaboration to foster meaningful exchanges in sustainability, urban development, education and governance.
Deputy Mayor and Member of the Mayoral Committee for Spatial Planning and Environment – Alderman Eddie Andrews said that the Cape Town-Aachen partnership is a testament to the power of international collaboration in addressing shared challenges.
Over past 25 years, it has facilitated more than 1000 exchanges, the benefits both cities through initiatives such as the Climate Ticket Cape Town, hack your Shack and agri-hubs and food gardens. Year 2025 is marking a quarter century of the partnership, that remains committed to deepen ties and drive impactful projects.
During this visit, representatives of officials and civil society from cities engaged in discussions to refine and strengthen the partnerships for the future. The emerged key themes included governance, behaviour change and collaborative sustainability efforts as all aimed at ensuring greater alignment between Cape Town and Aachen’s shared vision for resilient and sustainable urban development.
Considering this, Lord Mayor of Aachen – Keupen said that the two cities of Cape Town and Aachen have been close friends for 25 years. The vibrant partnership was strengthened during the official visit to Cape Town on behalf of the remarkable anniversary of the collaboration.
These engaging interactions with the people actively involved in the partnership’s projects as well as the close and friendly dialogue with colleagues from the city administration have deepened the bond.
In this joint workshop for the development of the city twinning have developed, reflected and solidified the goals. These will be outlined in an updated MoA for the upcoming years and are set to be signed in Aachen in August 2025.
The key outcome of the visit by the delegations was the initiation of the review process for the existing Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) between the two cities, which was signed in 2017. The renewed MoA was set to be formally signed at the 25th anniversary celebrations later this year, which will be build on past successes and will explore new areas of cooperation, particularly in tackling the shared urban and environmental challenges.
The visit also included engagements with local institutions, thought leaders and stakeholders, that fostered discussions on innovative urban solutions and knowledge exchange. From exploring transversal collaboration in education and city governance to addressing pressing environmental sustainability challenges.
Furthermore, the visit reinforced the importance of city-to-city partnerships in navigating complex global issues. The renewed MoA will guide the continued cooperation, ensuring that the partnership remains a driver of innovation and shared progress.