Padang and Germany's Hildesheim Seek Deeper 38 Years Sister City Ties

RRI.CO.ID, Padang - The 38-year-old sister-city relationship between Padang, Indonesia and Hildesheim, Germany, is once again being directed toward more concrete cooperation with a meaningful impact on the community. The Padang City Administration in West Sumatra is encouraging the partnership to develop from a friendship into collaboration in the fields of the environment, tourism, education, healthcare, and sustainable development.

The commitment emerged when Padang Mayor, Fadly Amran, welcomed German Ambassador to Indonesia, Ralf Beste, at the VIP Lounge of Minangkabau International Airport (BIM) in Padang Pariaman Regency on Tuesday, August 11, 2026.

The meeting formed part of efforts to strengthen Padang’s relationship with Hildesheim, which was established 38 years ago. One of the latest symbols of friendship between the two cities is the naming of the Hildesheim Bridge in the Batang Arau River area.

The partnership is not limited to symbolic gestures of friendship. The Padang City Administration and Hildesheim have drawn up several cooperation agendas focused on development needs.

One of the key areas of attention is the revitalization and ecological restoration of the Batang Arau River. Cooperation is also being directed toward sustainable tourism development, as well as the education and healthcare sectors.

Fadly said the Padang City Administration had updated the memorandum of understanding (MoU) and agreed on several points requiring joint follow-up. “We hope to receive the German ambassador’s full support so that the cooperation framework that has been prepared can be implemented properly and deliver tangible benefits to both sides,” said Fadly on Tuesday.

Padang Regional Secretariat Assistant for Economic and Development Affairs, Didi Aryadi, expressed the Padang City Administration’s readiness. He said the administration was preparing a cooperation framework that could be developed within the broader Indonesia-Germany relationship.

The preparation is linked to information about a planned visit to Indonesia by Germany’s Minister of Development and International Cooperation. The visit is considered a potential opportunity to expand support for several development agendas in the region.

According to Didi, the cooperation should be directed toward programs that provide direct benefits rather than merely producing agreement documents. “We are preparing the cooperation framework so it can be discussed in the context of potential development support between Indonesia and Germany,” he said, as quoted by infopublik.id.

With this approach, the Padang-Hildesheim relationship is expected to enter a new phase. Nearly four decades of cooperation provide a foundation for developing more measurable collaboration, particularly in environmental management, tourism development, improving human-resource quality, and basic public services. ***

Source: https://infopublik.id/kategori/nusantara/983364/padang-dorong-kerja-sama-dengan-jerman-lebih-konkret