Aurangabad, Jan 12:
For the first time, Aurangabad (a city in India) is all set to enter into a sister city collaboration with Ingolstadt ( a city in Germany) in various effective sectors like trade, commerce for MSME in business, education, tourism and waste management.
A video conference was held between Ingolstadt and Aurangabad in the presence of the Aurangabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) commissioner Astik Kumar Pandey, Vice-Chancellor (BAMU) Dr Pramod Yeole, Aurangabad First president Pritesh Chatterjee, CII Marathwada Zonal Council president Mukund Kulkarni, MASSIA president Abhay Hanchanal, CMIA president Kamlesh Dhoot, CMIA secretary Satish Lonikar and Aurangabad Smart City Development Corporation Limited (ASCDCL) deputy CEO Pushkal Shivam, today (on January 12).
Dr Suyash Chavan, the Consulate General of India -Munich, who is a native of Nanded, facilitated the meeting. He gave a presentation about Ingolstadt giving details about its geography, its collaborations with regions and cities in different countries and how Aurangabad and Ingolstadt can collaborate with each other.
Pandey, who is also the ASCDCL chief executive officer (CEO), expressed positivity and said that his team would give a presentation on five areas, on which MoUs can be signed, before January 25. The CEO also underlined of seeking support and guidance from the industries minister (and guardian minister) Subhash Desai and tourism minister Aditya Thackeray, in this initiative. Primarily, the areas on which Aurangabad seeks collaboration are universities, chamber of commerce, skill development, tourism and waste management. The other participants also shared their ideas upon the partnership between the sister cities, stated the press release.
Ingolstadt is a historic Bavarian town in Germany known for its heritage and cultural values. It is also known for its first Bavarian University where a sizable amount of Indian students study. It has signed city twinning partnerships with about ten cities from across the world. Ingolstadt and Aurangabad, both the cities, are rich in culture and heritage. Both the cities are economically connected since 2007 as Ingolstadt had set up its own German car giant Audi in Aurangabad way back in 2007. Like Ingolstadt and Aurangabad, the Mumbai-Stuttgart partnership that dates back to 1968 has helped in various exchange of best practices between the two cities, mentioned Dr Chavan in his presentation.