Ahmedabad Twinned with Valladolid in Spain

The sister city list of Ahmedabad has been studded with one more star. After Ohio, Guangzhou, Port Louis, Astrakhan, Ulsan, and Jersey City, the Heritage Hamlet has tied a golden knot with the city of Valladolid, Spain. The current mayor of Ahmedabad, Mr Gautam Shah recently visited the newly associated city to partake in the twinning ceremony, which took place on July 3, 2017, in presence of the mayor of Valladolid Mr Oscar Puente, Ambassador of India, Mr Venkatesh Verma, Dy municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation Mr Prajapati, and Dy Director of South Asia, Ministry of Foreign affairs, Mr Fernando Alonso. A cocktail was raised to commemorate the juncture along with a musical performance by Pandit Vipul Trivedi at the City Hall of Valladolid.

The talk was already in process while the Prime Minister of India Mr. Narendra Modi visited Spain on May 31, 2017 and prior to that the cities already grew their bonding last year through a cultural visit, where Ahmedabad delegates, including an envoy of Creative Yatra, toured Valladolid, Spain under a knowledge expedition jointly organized by Ahmedabad Heritage Venture Lab, Centre for Heritage Management, Ahmedabad University and the European Union.

The concept of declaring sister cities or twin towns emerged after the Second World War in 1947, to foster friendship between foes and allies and to understand one another’s culture to reconcile peace and harmony. Today it is moreover adulated as city diplomacy ties where trade, tourism, economy, culture and political benefits are holistically achieved between two cities, countries or provinces.