IURC – a platform for cities for sustainable urban development

Funded by the European Union, the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme aims to promote multi-city cooperation on sustainable urban development and to build partnerships between EU and non-EU cities. Participating local governments will be enabled to implement pilot projects engaging research, civil society and business partners.

Deputy Director General, Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO), EU Commission met with representatives from cities in the EU and India under the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) including Secretary, Kochi Municipal Corporation, Director Nitrite Ltd, Dean – Planning & Monitoring, School of Architecture, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Assistant Professor – Department of Automobile Engineering, Hindustan Institute of Technology & Science, Head, Territorial Development Department, Municipality of Reggio Emilia, Italy and Managing Director,

European Centre for Business & Innovation (CEEI) Foundation, Spain at the 3rd India – EU Urban Forum held on February 13, 2023.

The IURC contributes to the objectives of the UN New Urban Agenda, the Agenda 2030 (SDGs), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Commission’s priorities for a “Stronger Europe in the World” with the European Green Deal and the Next GenerationEU (post COVID-19 recovery plan) at the centre. The programme is implemented in the geographical area of Asia and Australasia in nine countries, namely India, Australia, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand and Vietnam.

The following cities are part of IURC in India: Kochi, Panaji, Surat, Pune Metropolitan Region Development Authority, Chennai, Leh, Gwalior, Jamshedpur, Patna, Gangtok, Jaipur, Ranchi, Porbandar and Kanpur. The cities in Europe are Leuven (Belgium), Karlsruhe and Trier (Germany), the Group of Municipalities: Trikala/ Farkadona/Meteora (Greece), Messina and Reggio Emilia (Italy), Alto Minho Functional Area (Portugal), Albacete (Spain), Rotterdam (The Netherlands).

The EU-funded International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia & Australasia programme in India was officially launched on February 24, 2022 in a virtual event with the presence of Additional Secretary (International Cooperation), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India, Senior Advisor, DG REGIO, EU Commission, and Counsellor, Delegation of the European Union to India. And the EU funded International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) Asia & Australasia programme in India was announced at the 2nd India – EU Urban Forum in May 2021.

As part of this city-to-city cooperation, 23 city authorities from Europe and India work together until the end of 2023 in the areas of ecological transition, urban and regional renewal and innovative, sustainable and carbon neutral ecosystems.