Organized conjointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), “BRIDGE for Cities – Belt and Road Initiative: Developing Green Economies for Cities” is an annual event that aims to promote the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development via the Belt and Road Initiative, with which it shares many similarities, and to encourage municipal officials and development stakeholders to scale up their engagement in inclusive and sustainable urban and industrial development initiatives.
The 3rd “BRIDGE for Cities” event focused on delivering concrete outcomes to facilitate the implementation of sustainable urban-industrial development projects in cities across the Belt and Road and beyond.
Features of the 3rd “BRIDGE for Cities” event
Based on the success of the previous events, the 3rd “BRIDGE for Cities” event focused on sector-specific urban-industrial development challenges within the framework of the BRI, which will aid in the development of concrete project-based opportunities for business matchmaking, financing and investment.
Throughout the event, speakers, panelists and experts discussed how sustainable industrial development can be achieved at urban level, fostering, in a virtuous circle, economic and infrastructural growth.
During the first day of the event – the High-Level Policy Dialogue – the speakers and panellists invited provided recommendations and policy advises for urban-development stakeholders, for the attainment of sustainable urban-industrial development.
The second day was designed to showcase concrete urban-industrial development challenges and solutions, through the example of four case cities.
The third day was devoted to facilitate the establishment of business-to-business links, thanks to matchmaking opportunities, study tours and workshops.
Case Cities – Trieste, Shanghai, Vienna, Chengdu
Four case cities – Trieste, Italy; Shanghai, China; Vienna, Austria and Chengdu,China – have been identified for the 3rd “BRIDGE for Cities”event.
All four cities have been selected through a nomination process organized after a member-state briefing. For case preparation, roadshows and in-depth city assessments have been conducted in each city, with involvement of UNIDO technical departments and external experts. For the City of Vienna’s case preparation, an Expert Group Meeting on “Soft Environment for Urban Investment” has been conducted on 26 June 2018.
Through the roadshows and assessment leading up to the annual event, UNIDO aims to create a network of cities to facilitate cooperation, technology exchanges and partnerships between them as well as with other cities along the Belt and Road and beyond.
UNIDO extends its sincere appreciation to all Permanent Missions for their kind support and involvement in the nomination process during the past few months.
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