At the launching, participants listen to city presentations and discussions on the theme “Innovation for Smart and Green Cities”, given by senior officials of the cities of Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Milan and Košice and Ambassadors of Italy and Slovakia.

Hanoi city

World Cities is a 700,000EUR – worth project of the European Union managed by the Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) of the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium. The project originates in a Preparatory Action of the European Parliament to promote the exchange of experience and best practice between the European Union and non-EU countries on the theme of territorial development with particular reference to sustainable urban development.
The project facilitates the exchange of information and good practices on regional and urban development policy issues. Cooperation is based on the identification of pilot cities and the development of concrete actions, for implementation in the short-term, in areas including urban innovation (smart-city) and green technologies (energy efficiency, low carbon development). Intervention areas will be decided by the involved cities/regions, with strong support of the project team, and in coordination with the EU Commission (DG REGIO), the EU Delegations in the respective countries and national authorities where relevant.
Ambassador – Head of Delegation of the Delegation of the European Union in Vietnam Bruno Angelet said, "The European Union and Vietnam recognise that the development of cities is a key factor in the promotion of sustainable development in the world. The European Union and the Member States are therefore committed to engaging with partners around the globe, to expand opportunities for city-to-city cooperation developing capacities and fostering exchanges of urban solutions and mutual learning to jointly address the challenges of sustainable development in our partner countries overall."
Actions will be designed to increase so-called ‘triple-helix cooperation’ between governments, research and business. Herefore, the project team will support cities involved in the development of concrete action plans for the short-term implementation. World Cities ultimate goal is to strengthen market opportunities and job creation while pursuing the sustainable economic development of the cities involved, thus fostering win-win cooperation.
Besides Vietnam, the World Cities project also runs in Australia, Indonesia, South Africa and South Korea. The programme will also launch a collaborative online platform to facilitate the exchange of information and good practices between EU and non-EU cities.
Representatives of Vietnamese government, EU Member States' embassies, international organizations, academics and civil society will attend the launch and the panel discussion.