The Municipal Secretary of International Relations, Marta Suplicy, participated in a virtual meeting with the Director of International Relations of the City of Milan (Italy), Vittoria Beria, last Wednesday (23). The videoconference was also attended by the Municipal Assistant Secretary, Ambassador Débora Baremboin-Salej, and the Executive Director of City-City Relations, Silvia La Ferla. In addition to celebrating 60 years of twinning between São Paulo and Milan, the meeting was based on the presentation of the priority actions of the folder.
In the videoconference, Secretary Marta commented on the expectation regarding Milan's support for the internationalization of the city, such as the participation of the city of São Paulo in the C40 network, of which Milan is also a part. In addition, the Executive also highlighted the Base Milano and Milano Innovation District initiatives as inspiration for projects in São Paulo about innovation, technology and culture.
Regarding the celebration of the 60th anniversary of the Twinning Agreement, the Secretary highlighted that Milan was the first sister city of São Paulo. Among the celebration proposals discussed are the exchange of experiences and cooperation in the areas of the creative economy, climate action, business, innovation and technology, culture, and others.
Urban requalification and sustainability
The city of São Paulo and Milan share exchanges and technical cooperation in the areas of urban issues and sustainability. In 2020, the two cities developed an Action Plan, through the International Urban Cooperation (IUC) program of the European Union. The Action Plan established the forecast for the exchange of experiences between the two cities on the themes of urban requalification and preservation of the City of São Paulo's historical heritage.
Both cities are committed to carbon reduction. In early June, the city of São Paulo launched the Climate Action Plan (PlanClima SP), a document that will guide the formulation of public policies and actions by the municipal administration to eliminate carbon emissions. In addition, the municipality opened the O Hub Green Sampa - Bruno Covas Innovation Center, a space dedicated to innovation in green technologies. Milan, in turn, leads the OpenAgri project, which seeks to identify and test new solutions relevant to the European context related to sustainable urban development and urban agriculture. The Italian city is also dedicated to the elaboration of the Air and Climate Plan.