International cooperation

Umeå Municipality enjoys a high level of cooperation at international level if one considers its involvement with twin towns and sister cities, project collaboration and all the work which takes place via formal and informal networks. If one then includes all the international contacts which exist via its businesses, university institutions, cultural institutions and other public bodies, it can be seen that Umeå is an international city with strong ties right round the world.
The purpose of town twinning is to encourage the exchange of experience and promote friendship at international level.

Umeå Municipality has six twin towns and sister cities: Vaasa in Finland, Harstad in Norway, Helsingør in Denmark, Würzburg in Germany, Petrozavodsk in Russia and Saskatoon in Canada.

Umeå Municipality has cooperation agreements with the Seychelles, Xi´an, Qufu and Lanzhou in China, and Guanajuato in Mexico. In addition, the Municipality has a number of project agreements with various municipalities around the world.