AUCKLAND CITY COUNCIL MEDIA RELEASE

27 February 2007

Guten Tag Auckland!

Auckland City Council has taken its first steps with the city of Hamburg to join in a strategic alliance, the first time any New Zealand city will have this type of relationship with a European city.

"We are delighted to have this connection with Hamburg, a city that has many similar challenges to Auckland," said Councillor John Hinchcliff, chairperson of the Partnerships Committee.

"We are looking forward to working with Hamburg in areas like managing the growth in our cities, developing our waterfronts and facilitating the integration of new migrants. Both cities also want to ensure that the work we do is sustainable with a focus on the future."

The memorandum of understanding outlines the specific areas that the two cities will work together on including international relations, economic development and life sciences, including biotechnology.

The link with Hamburg will enable benchmarking between the two cities and knowledge sharing that will promote business and development opportunities particularly in the areas of trade, services, education and tourism.

"Hamburg is the major centre for international trade in Germany with a trading history that goes back for centuries. Auckland is the main trading centre in New Zealand so it makes a lot of sense to develop a strategic relationship with a focus on commercial activities," said Mr Erich Bachmann, President of the New Zealand German Business Association.

Hamburg is a harbour city in the north of Germany. With 1.8 million inhabitants it is the second largest city in Germany. The port of Hamburg is the second largest in Europe.

The aim of Auckland City Council's Partnerships Committee is to establish relationships with various communities to achieve a greater level of engagement and have a greater understanding of what communities need to be effective.

ENDS

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