Cooperation between Aalen and Vilankulo

The cooperation between Vilankulo in Mozambique and the city of Aalen became reality in 2018. It was a handshake that connects continents and cultures.
Aalen's Lord Mayor Thilo Rentschler and his Mozambican counterpart Abilio Manuel Machado have drawn up a friendship agreement intended to help the city of Vilankulo combat poverty over the long term. With knowledge, education and training made in Aalen. It is the first agreement of its kind between a German city and a Mozambican city. The Federal Foreign Office and the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) have welcomed the partnership. It was preceded by mutual visits from the most senior representatives of both cities. 

The German delegation was accompanied by Honorary Consul Dr. Marcus Lingel. "We want to do something on a local level, from person to person," says Aalen's mayor Thilo Rentschler, who had travelled to Vilankulo with a municipal delegation from business, schools, higher education and civil society. Many ideas already exist: "We have entrepreneurs who know where to roll up their sleeves," says Thilo Rentschler. Progress can only be made if people are trained in their home country and thus offered a future prospect. This prevents them from fleeing towards Europe, says Rentschler.