International Relations

Historically the City of Aarhus has collaborated with a wide range of international partners, and as the second-largest and fastest growing city in Denmark, Aarhus is home to a vast number of companies that both operate and recruit internationally. Additionally, students and expats from all over the world, come to Aarhus to study and work, while simultaneously contributing to the city’s openness, through insight into foreign cultures and knowledge.

Furthermore, the massive challenges presented by global warming and climate change can only be solved by means of international cooperation and through the exchange of knowledge. Accordingly, the water supply utility Aarhus Water A/S, supplies state-of-the-art technical solutions to partner municipalities across the world.

Aarhus is continuously working on developing new bonds and international partnerships, while at the same time further strengthening already existing ties with partner cities abroad.

Among these are six distinct sister city partnerships, the oldest dating all the way back to 1946, with the Nordic cities of Bergen, Gothenburg, and Turku. Since then, Aarhus has developed sister city partnerships with the Municipality of Kujalleq Greenland, Rostock Germany and Harbin, China.

Aarhus also plays an active role in international city networks, is a committed member of several international knowledge communities, and is represented in the EU-system through The Central Denmark EU Office. 

In recent years, Aarhus has expanded its work with international relations to also include strategic sector cooperation with different cities and municipalities across the world.