Kiel - Vaasa: the twin-city partnership
Kiel wished to extend the scope of the twin-city partnerships it already had in Western Europe into Scandinavia, and especially to Finland. To this end, in 1996, the Land Capital had discussions with the Association of German Towns and Cities and with the Finnish Trade Mission. Initial contacts were established with Vaasa.
While many cities from the former GDR already had twin communities in Finland, the Federal Republic of Germany still needed to catch up. By means of its twin-city partnership with Vaasa, Kiel opened the door to Finland, and by doing so strengthened the official relations between the Federal Republic of Germany and Scandinavia.
The twin-city partnership between Vaasa and Kiel was formalised on 10 September 1967, "Twin Cities Day”. It was the precursor for the co-operative partnership which had in the meantime been initiated between the Province of Vaasa and the Land Schleswig-Holstein.