The International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme, an initiative funded by the European Union, is organising a study visit to Sofia for representatives of the city of Semarang City, Indonesia, from 13 to 15 March 2023. The visiting delegation also includes representatives of Association of Indonesian Municipalities (APEKSI). The visit aims to promote cooperation between the two cities in the field of sustainable urban mobility. Previously, the Sofia visited Semarang City in June 2022.

The Indonesian city is interested in how to develop its public transport system, especially the tram transport which is considering to introduce, as well as in best practices of Sofia, such as charging facilities in public transport, the SofiaCoin mobile app created under the INOAIR project, measures to improve air quality, initiatives to encourage more citizens to use public transport.

The programme includes meetings with Mr. Barbalov, Deputy Mayor for Transport, representatives of Sofia Municipality, Sofia Electric Transport, Urban Mobility Centre, Sofia Development Association and other stakeholders and will include a number of visits to mobility related sights.

Sofia, one of the 100 European cities aiming to be climate-neutral by 2030, will share its experiences, achievements and challenges, innovations it is testing for the first time on a European scale, such as on-demand transport under the INOAIR project, and discuss opportunities for continued cooperation in the field of mobility with the forth most populous country with a rapidly growing economy.

------------


About IURC
Funded by the European Union, the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme promotes cooperation between cities on sustainable urban development and builds partnerships between EU and non-EU cities. Participating local governments are enabled to implement pilot projects engaging research, civil society and business partners. IURC contributes to the objectives of the UN New Urban Agenda, the Agenda 2030 (SDGs), the Urban Agenda for the EU and the European Commission’s priorities for a “Stronger Europe in the World” with the European Green Deal and the NextGenerationEU (post COVID-19 recovery plan). IURC is implemented in nine countries in Asia and Australasia: Australia, India, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Vietnam. In Bulgaria, IURC is pairing the Bulgaria’s capital Sofia with the two Asian cities, namely Sejong of Republic of Korea and Semarang City of Indonesia.

Wesbite: https://www.iurc.eu/