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TunisiaCelebrating 25th Anniversary of MedCities: UfM, ARLEM and local governments work together towards a new UfM Urban Agenda
October 31, 2016
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UfM Secretary General, Fathallah Sijilmassi, along with Mayors Ada Colau of Barcelona and Mohamed Idaomar of Tetouan, and EU Committee of Regions President and ARLEM (Euro-Mediterranean Regional and Local Assembly) Co-President Markku Markkula inaugurated the conference celebrating the 25th Anniversary of MedCities held in Barcelona last week.
MedCities is a network of Mediterranean cities created in Barcelona in November 1991 to promote the implementation of sustainable urban development projects and initiatives, and advocate for the reinforcement of the local authorities’ role in the Mediterranean region.
Participants included other Mayors and stakeholders from cities throughout the region, including Croatia, Cyprus, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia and Spain.
President Markkula and Secretary General Sijilmassi agreed to deepen cooperation between ARLEM and the UfM Secretariat in order to reinforce the territorial dimension in all UfM activities in partnership with ARLEM: “urban development is not just a sector, but a transversal vector for development”.
The added value of the EU-funded Urban Project Finance Initiative (UPFI) and its related UfM-labelled projects was also evoked. Participants welcomed the upcoming UfM Ministerial Meeting on Sustainable Urban Development as a “call for action” aiming at elaborating a comprehensive and operational action plan towards a New Urban Agenda for the Mediterranean region and following a cooperative approach that underscores the joint efforts of governments and key stakeholders. The Meeting is foreseen to take place in Cairo, Egypt in May of 2017 and will come at a crucial juncture being held a few months following the adoption of UN Habitat III New Urban Agenda and the holding of the COP22 (Marrakech-November 2016).(EU Neighbourhood Info Centre)
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