In April 1999, the Mayor of St. Paul, Norm Coleman, formulated his vision for the city partnership between Neuss and St. Paul: "The strongest and longest endurable sister city partnership in the world." The people of Neuss accepted the challenge. The invitation of the US delegation to Neuss in November 1999 was followed by a visit to St. Paul in the beginning of June. The personal contacts and the use of video conferencing between the two cities have set up an attractive program.

On June 3, 2000, 15 leaders of the city, the chamber and businesses made their way to St. Paul. After 22 hours of travel, the group landed at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport.

Here, a member of the delegation who had checked his luggage had the first shock when his luggage did not come with the other's baggage. His first experience with the service industry of America: no problem: a little before midnight he acquired some clothing, hygiene products, etc.

On the agenda for Sunday: to get to know the people and the lifestyle of people in St. Paul. We started with a breakfast in a mansion on Summit Ave. The owners of the house were proud to show off their newly renovated turn of the century home.

After that the delegation took part in the Grand Old Day parade. In good weather, this parade draws thousands of onlookers. Unfortunately, it rained and so we sat under umbrellas on stagecoaches. The two Mayors greeted people for about an hour.

The dinner that evening was also held at a private location; the home of a personal friend of Mayor Coleman's on Lake Minnetonka.

The next day began the discussions between the participants- the main reason for the trip. That morning the delegation toured Ecolab. Ecolab produces and sells cleaning materials for professional buildings, hospitals, hotels, etc. There is currently a joint venture with Henkel (a German company). The CEO, Al Schuman, provided the tour himself and showed us the training rooms for the sales teams.

In the Landmark Center various information was given about the topic "Doing Business in the United States, Minnesota, St. Paul", but before that lunch was hosted by the oldest corporation in the state of Minnesota, "St. Paul Companies". In the afternoon, there was an option to speak one-on-one with representatives from companies interested in doing business together and to tour businesses in St. Paul.

A visit to 3M with lunch included was part of Tuesday's plan. After that the head of the IHK gave an overview of "Doing Business in Germany, Nord-Rhein Westphalen, Neuss". In the evening, the official farewell party for the Mayor and his delegation took place. Different ethnic groups honored the guests with performances and a group of students from a St. Paul school along with their teachers put together a box of memorabilia for the Mayor to take home. To round off the 5-day trip was a meeting at the Mayor's office with Norm Coleman and other city employees.

The organization of the program and the special opportunities to meet with people will not be forgotten by the delegation.