Guangzhou high level delegation visits the Metropolis Secretariat General

The Secretariat General in Barcelona was honored to receive this morning the courtesy visit of a high level delegation from the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government. The delegation was composed by Mr. CHEN Guo, Member of the Standing Committee of CPC Guangzhou Committee and Secretary General of CPC Guangzhou Committee; Mr. CAO Zhicong, Director General, Commission of Commerce of Guangzhou Municipality; Mr. CHEN Chunsheng, Deputy Director General, Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV, News and Publishing of Guangzhou Municipality; Mr. LIANG Weicheng, Director, General Office of Panyu District of Guangzhou; Mr. SONG Linquan, Director, General Office of CPC Guangzhou Committee, Mr. XIE Shuibin, Interpreter, Foreign Affairs Office of the Guangzhou Municipal People's Government.

The meeting was fruitful to recognize the leadership role that the city of Guangzhou plays in Metropolis. A Metropolis member since 1993. It currrently holds a Copresidency within the association legal bodies, as well as the Regional Secretariat for Asia and the Pacific. Besides of its political leadership, Guangzhou is also very keen on sharing its best practices on urban management and learning from other Metropolis’ members. Good examples of this fruitful cooperation are the Guangzhou Award, its Urban Innovation Community and its Institute for Urban Innovation, which kicked off on 2012 with the support of Metropolis and UCLG. Such initiatives demonstrate the outstanding role of the  Guangzhou in city to city diplomacy worldwide.

“As the world witnesses global cities, such as Guangzhou, becoming economic powerhouses and connecting the metropolises of the world, having Guangzhou as one of the most active Metropolis’ members is an asset of extremely high value to our association”, stated Agnès Bickart, Manager of International Relations at the Metropolis Secretariat General and the main responsible for following up with this member at the SG staff.

The meeting also served to provide updates on Metropolis current activities, encouraging Guangzhou to also share its practices with gender mainstreaming and youth empowerment within the administration of the city. Next November, the presence of the new Metropolis Secretary General, Mr Felip Roca, at the” Guangzhou Workshop for Thought Leaders: Learning from Urban Innovation” shall reinforce such cooperation ties.