Twinning agreements involve a mutual decision between two towns or cities to establish a close, amicable and permanent relationship, with a view to achieving mutual understanding and conducting a range of activities of interest to both places.
The twinning agreement movement emerged after the Second World War. Clashes between European countries led to the birth of this unique initiative; what had been destructed by states and international conflict was united by towns and their residents through understanding and reconciliation.
Later, and linked with the process of European integration, the European Union promoted twinning agreements with the aim of creating new links and strengthening existing ones, and encouraged exchanges between the residents of twinned towns and the organisation of conferences and meetings, etc.
Today, Tortosa has twinning arrangements with Avignon (France), Alcañiz (Spain), Vercelli (Italy), Le Puy-en-Velay (France), Tartus (Syria)
