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16.04.2025
Lviv and the Swedish city of Uppsala became twin cities
Recently, Lviv and Uppsala in Sweden officially signed a partnership agreement, which is another important step in the development of international cooperation between Ukrainian communities. For Lviv, Uppsala has become the 32nd sister city.
The signing took place during the visit of the Lviv delegation to Sweden, where Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi and the chairman of Uppsala City Council, Erik Pelling, officially confirmed the long-term cooperation between the two cities.
“This initiative is an important step in Uppsala’s involvement in international cooperation and support for Ukraine’s recovery. By sharing knowledge and resources, we hope to contribute to positive development and strengthen ties between our communities,” said Erik Pelling, Chairman of Uppsala City Council.
The search for an effective and meaningful partnership between Uppsala and the Ukrainian city began back in 2022 in Stockholm, during the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions’ (SALAR) annual event dedicated to current EU and international cooperation issues affecting local and regional government. It was there, during the presentation of the Cities4Cities initiative, that the municipality of Uppsala expressed its interest in establishing a partnership with the Ukrainian municipality.
And in 2024, active consultations with representatives of Lviv and Uppsala continued, which resulted in the identification of five main areas of cooperation:
- education, science, culture and the arts – with a special emphasis on the role of culture in rehabilitation, recovery and social cohesion;
- health care and rehabilitation;
- ecology and climate transition;
- crisis preparedness and resilience;
- local government development.
“In times of war, such partnerships are particularly powerful. They are about trust, solidarity, and a common future,” the mayor of Lviv emphasized after signing the agreement.
As part of his visit, Lviv Mayor visited the SALAR office and SALAR International. SALAR International is one of the co-founders of the Cities4Cities initiative, which has been helping to establish international partnerships and develop the capacity of Ukrainian municipalities on the path to European integration from the very beginning. Currently, SALAR International is implementing the Swedish-Ukrainian Polaris Programme “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine”, of which Cities4Cities is a part.
Cities4Cities | United4Ukraine are partner initiatives that joined forces in September 2022. Cities4Cities was founded by the city of Sindelfingen (Germany) under the patronage of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe. United4Ukraine was initiated by SALAR International and the city of Lviv, with support from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Since 2024, Cities4Cities | United4Ukraine has been part of Sweden’s flagship programme for Ukraine Polaris “Supporting Multilevel Governance in Ukraine”.