Bucharest, February 6, 2013
Following the invitation of the Lord Mayor of Bucharest Dr. Sorin Oprescu, Dr. Alfred Lehmann had an official visit to Bucharest on February 6, 2013. The two mayors previously met on the occasion of the 1st Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region held in Regensburg, in November 2012, which reconfirmed that the Strategy is the key in the Region to promote growth and development.
Mayor Oprescu underlined his commitment to developing Bucharest through flagship projects meant to b oost the capacity of the city to absorb European funds. One of the most important objectives is to connect Bucharest to the Danube cities network, as well as to intensify the participation within the decisional process. Furthermore, Mayor Oprescu underlined the good cooperation Bucharest has with the local and regional authorities of Sulina, Tulcea, Galati, Braila, Giurgiu.
Mayor Lehmann reiterated the interest of Ingolstadt to participate in the Strategy and to further develop initiatives that make our cities and regions strong in terms of economic and social growth. He also announced the creation of the bureau within the City Hall whose mission is to deal with the development of projects under this strategy.
The two mayors discussed several projects concerning the sectors of investments and infrastructure and concluded that the private – public partnerships represent the key engine for the development of cities and regions in the European Union and implicitly, in the Danube Region. Mayor Oprescu showed a great interest in the successful model used by Ingolstadt for the sources of renewable energies.
The City of Ingolstadt is a member of the Council of Danube of Cities and Regions and an important stakeholder in the implementation process of the EUSDR. Ingolstadt is Germany’s most economically successful federal state and a promising location for high-performance companies from industry, trade and commerce, however large or small they may be: tradition and innovation interplay here. The producing and processing industry has a reputation second to none in Ingolstadt. The tertiary sector with business services, freight companies, banks, insurance companies, agencies, and healthcare is expanding parallel to this.
