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• Mayors of Barcelona and Tetouan, Co-President of ARLEM, and UfM Secretary General presided over 25th Anniversary of Euro-Mediterranean municipal network MedCities, and discuss urban development regional co-operation with mayors and other stakeholders from the region.

• Participants agreed on the need for an enhanced common urban development agenda for the Mediterranean, developing synergies and closer cooperation amongst the different integration initiatives in the region, especially in light of UN Habitat III New Urban Agenda and the upcoming COP22 in Marrakech and UfM Ministerial on Sustainable Urban Development in Cairo.

The Networking Event “Union for the Mediterranean – Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI)” was a unique opportunity to build on the UPFI success story and discuss the best tools to implement a “New Urban Agenda for the Mediterranean Region”, in view of the next UfM Ministerial Conference on Sustainable Urban Development, to be held in Egypt in the Spring of 2017.

Waste management is one of the main environmental problems in Turkey’s cities, including Izmir, and it is also a key strategic issue with particular relevance at regional level. Izmir’s current solid waste landfill facility is reaching its full capacity. The new facility will provide high-quality integrated solid waste management for Izmir at a critical time, and will adopt an exemplary, innovative and environmentally friendly urban infrastructure approach.

The Multi-Site Urban Regeneration Project in Jericho Project will improve living conditions for 50,000 inhabitants of the city and Jericho Governorate by reorganising and upgrading important public and leisure facilities and extending the city’s green spaces. These interventions will bring about the revitalisation of those areas, benefiting commercial activities and local economic development. Moreover, the Project will play a key role in improving the food security chain.

• The Secretariat of the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) and UN-Habitat sign a Memorandum of Understanding to strengthen collaboration for an integrated approach to urban development, focusing on water management, risk reduction and resilience.

• Fostering sustainable urban development is paramount to effectively advance integration, stability and human development in the Mediterranean.

UfM Secretariat Headquarters, Barcelona, 15 December 2015 The UfM Working Group on Urban Development, created by the Transport and Urban Development Division as a consultative body in the early days of UfM Secretariat, will hold its VII Meeting in Barcelona on 15 December  2015. The event will bring together eminent experts from several partner institutions toRead more

Barcelona, 24-25 November 2015 “EUROMED Invest Academy”, bringing together between 60 to 80 representatives of BSOs and territorial actors and constituted by the Association of the Mediterranean Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASCAME), EUROCHAMBERS, ANIMA and BusinessMED networks, will conduct a two day capacity building workshop in the Casa Llotja de Mar (Barcelona), on 24-25Read more

Barcelona, 17 November 2015 The city of Barcelona will host the “First International Conference PPP for Cities: Fostering sustainability and innovation in cities through Public Private Partnerships”, on 17 November 2015, in the framework of the Smart City Expo World Congress. The Conference, organized by The Specialist Centre on Public Private Partnership in Smart andRead more

UfM Secretariat Headquarters in Barcelona, 10 June 2015 The Third Meeting of the UPFI Project Committee will gather all the Urban Project Finance Initiative (UPFI) partners, namely, the UfM Secretariat, the European Commission, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), the German KFW, the Caisse des Dépôts (CDC), the as wellRead more

The UfM’s Urban Projects Finance Initiative (UPFI) Workshop brings all relevant stakeholders and promoters involved in the initiative together for the first time, marking the start of its second phase.

Laila Iskandar, the Minister of State for Urban Renewal and Informal Areas of Egypt; Anis Ghdira, the Secretary of State for Housing of the Government of Tunisia; and Mohammed Jalayta, the Mayor of Jericho (Palestine), are attending the workshop, along with high-level representatives from international financial institutions and 60 participants from six countries involved in 15 UPFI projects.