Rio City Hall highlights sustainability and innovation actions in Forum of Cities of countries in the BRICS group

The Rio de Janeiro City Hall, through its International Relations Office, participated in the BRICS Local Government and Cities Cooperation Forum on October 19 and 20. The event, which brought together cities from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, highlighted the importance of cooperation and partnership between local governments.

In the opening plenary session of the event, Rio highlighted the municipality's actions in the areas of innovation and sustainability, in addition to presenting the measures taken to combat the novel coronavirus pandemic. The proposal to create a mechanism to strengthen dialogue between the 5 main cities of the BRICS countries was also presented – BRICS 5×5 – and the importance of the New Development Bank's support for this initiative.

Ambassador Antonio Mello, representing the City of Rio on the occasion, reinforced the prominent role of local governments in achieving global goals and encouraged the other cities in the group to work together to implement new partnerships for sustainable development.

In Rio de Janeiro's participation in the thematic session “Development of Intermunicipal Cooperation among BRICS members”, the common interests between the cities of the bloc and the possibilities of cooperation in the areas of innovation and financing for the development of creative, sustainable and resilient urban solutions were mentioned, as well as the creation of ideal environments for startups and incubators.

Furthermore, the city proposed holding a specific meeting on the topic at the BRICS Municipal Forum to be held in July 2021 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The City’s International Relations Coordinator stressed the importance of “strengthening our relationships with development finance institutions, multilateral banks, and city networks and alliances, such as Urban 20, C40, UCLG, and the Milan Pact on Urban Food Policy.”

The importance of increasing investment and technological development was also discussed, in order to strengthen companies based in cities in the BRICS countries, as well as to intensify the flow of tourism and cultural exchanges between our metropolises and to stimulate inclusive and efficient educational systems, actions necessary for a sustainable economic recovery. Rio de Janeiro demonstrated great interest in intensifying ties of friendship and cooperation with the other cities in the group, from a participatory and multilateral perspective.

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November 4th, 2020

Appointments: Brics International Relations Coordination New Development Bank Milan Pact Rio de Janeiro City Hall