This November, representatives from IUC-India travelled to Brussels (Belgium) and Milan (Italy) to exchange knowledge with European and international counterparts.

An Indian delegation consisting of senior state policy makers, city mayors, technical experts and academics participated in the IUC's third annual City-to-City event. Speakers from the India delegation included Syed Haider, Principal Secretary, Climate Change Department, Government of Gujarat (India), and Yogender Singh, Director Urban Development and Local Self Government, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India.

Through their presentations, these speakers and the entire delegation shared insights on the need for multi-pronged approaches to sustainable urban development; key challenges to implementation faced by cities; steps to move from planning to implementation; how the private and public sectors can work together to secure sustainable development at the local level; and they spoke in detail about the city-pairing experiences of the twelve paired Indian cities. This included overviewing considerations a city should take into account when replicating the city-pairing approach.

The day in Brussels was part of the Indian delegation's week-long visit in Europe from 18-22 November 2019, during which time delegates had the opportunity to exchange best practices and attend workshops with the City of Milan, the European Union Joint Research Center, and the University of Bocconi in Italy. In addition, the trip furthered cooperation opportunities with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Regional & Urban Policy and Directorate-General for Environment.

The Indian delegation also included Lochan Sehra, Secretary, Urban Development, Government of Gujarat, as well as mayors and elected representatives from the cities of Kochi, Gangtok, Bhavnagar and Jamnagar.

Header image by Nathalie Nizette taken at the 3rd IUC City-to-City event. Syed Jawaid Haider, State of Gujarat (India) and Eero Ailio, Directorate-General for Energy, European Commission.