المملكة: City dialogue forum .. 8 cities review projects with more than 6.2 billion riyals

The European Arab Cities Dialogue Forum held in the capital, Riyadh, witnessed an advanced dialogue session entitled “Urban Finance Forum: visions of financial institutions”.
It was devoted to reviewing development initiatives in the fields of financing and investment, with high participation that included a number of heads of delegations, secretaries, deans, and mayors, as well as representatives of international financing institutions and development funds.

City dialogue forum

The total value of the projects offered and expected for financing amounted to about 6.2 billion riyals, and the session witnessed the participation of the Saudi Fund for Development, the African Development Bank, the United Nations Road Safety Fund, and the African Finance Corporation.
The session came as one of the pivotal stations within the “course of work” in the forum; To be an open platform for practical dialogue between Arab and European cities and donors, in the context of supporting urban development efforts and stimulating sustainable investments.
The session aims; To fill the gap between the increasing municipal needs in developing infrastructure and urban services, and between available international financing tools, by linking the proposed projects from cities directly to the financing parties, and providing the opportunity to receive feedback from experts and decision makers.

Funding institutions experiences

The work of the session was divided into two main tracks, as the path of solutions was devoted to reviewing the experiences of financing institutions, and its mechanisms in designing strategic partnerships at the national, regional and global levels.
While the project path focused on providing detailed offers for urban initiatives under implementation or in the planning stage; In order to obtain direct financing, or enter long -term development partnerships.
The sessions were moderated by each of the chief economists of the United Nations Human Settlements Program, Dr. Kyle Farrell, and the head of the Economic Development Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Karen Maguire.

Promote the urban environment

In an actual extension of the goals of the session, the forum witnessed the presentation of 8 Arab and European cities for its development projects in front of a number of international financing institutions, within a direct path to communication and interaction with the donors, as the total value of the projects offered and expected to finance amounted to about 6.2 billion riyals.
The city of Kishnaw reviewed the “Red Mill” restoration project; Which aims to revive the only heritage industrial building in the city and turn it into a creative center that supports the cultural space network.
The city of Djibouti launched a “city without waste” project to improve waste management and enhance the urban environment through initiatives for recycling and community awareness.

Improving the environmental structure

Ramallah presented a project to establish a solid waste sorting station to reduce transportation and improve the environmental structure, while the French city of Nice presented a project to extend the No. 4 tram line as part of an integrated plan to develop the public transport network.
In the same context, Madrid revealed its huge project, “Madrid Noyfu Norte”, to convert industrial spaces into a sustainable, multi -use urban area.
As for the city of Dammam, it participated in a project to rehabilitate streets 6 and 8 in the eastern beach neighborhood, focusing on improving infrastructure, pedestrian safety and bikes, and is in line with the targets of the Kingdom’s 2030 vision, while the city of Erbil presented an initiative to turn the city into a bicycle environment through a customized and safe infrastructure.

Sustainable development partnerships

While the city of Nouakchott offered a regional fund project for climate adaptation; It aims to support green urban projects based on solar energy, urban agriculture and improve transportation.
This direct interaction between cities and financing institutions was one of the most important practical outcomes for the forum, as it reflected the ability of cities to offer qualitatively implemented qualitative initiatives.
In addition to opening concrete horizons to build sustainable development partnerships that support the future of cities and mimic climate and economic reality variables.