To mark the occasion, which starts from February 1-3, a delegation headed by Mayor Dr Wolfgang Schuster flew down to Mumbai on January 31 with a promise to improve the network and relationship with Mumbai.

The delegation, which includes representatives of health, economic affairs, international affairs, airport etc, will be in the city till February 5. Addressing a press conference with BMC Municipal Commissioner Jairaj Phatak on Friday, Schuster said that the objective of their visit is to strengthen co-operation in areas of culture, politics, business, education and health.

The Stuttgart mayor said it would be difficult to say what Mumbai needs to learn from his city as both the cities are different and have to face the challenges taking into consideration the local issues.

However, Additional Municipal Commissioner Manu Kumar Srivastava, who visited Stuttgart last month, said that there were many things which Mumbai can replicate. “The urban transport, street furniture, public amenities, public hospital management among others, in Stuttgart, are laudable and can be replicated here too,” he said.

When asked about the changes in the city since his last visit, Schuster said that Mumbai was a dynamic city and a lot of development has taken place over the years. “But there are a lot of contractions. The population is growing and I hope the municipal corporation here takes measures to solve the problem of commuting. That is certainly one of the biggest challenges faced by the city,” he said.