The Hindu : Kerala News : European cities ready to partner with Kochi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 21, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala

European cities ready to partner with Kochi

Staff Reporter

They have evinced interest in tourism and waste management

KOCHI: A few European cites have come forward to partner with Kochi in tourism and urban development.

A platform for dialogue among the cities was provided at the recently concluded EuroIndia Forum in Goa. The theme of the conference was "Urban India 2020: Investing in the future of Indian cities. Leveraging European expertise for their renewal."

The European cities of La Rochelle, Lyon and Zurich have evinced keen interest in partnering with Kochi in sectors such as tourism and sharing their experiences in urban solid-waste management, said N. Anilkumar, councillor who participated in the conference.

The democratic decentralisation process being undertaken in the State had invoked keen interest in the European cities. La Rochelle had invited Kochi for the next boat show to be held there.

Kochi was the only city represented in the conference from South India. The other Indian cities involved were Delhi, Gwalior, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Panaji and Udaipur.

The Goa conference provided a platform for exchange of ideas and informal exchange of interest between partnering cities. The real programmes and partnerships would have to be chalked out at a later stage, said Rajan Chedambath, secretary of the Centre for Heritage Environment and Development of the Kochi Corporation, who also participated in the programme.

N.A. Moni, councillor; Town Planning Officer G. Sasi; P. Radhakrishnan of Confederation of Indian Industries; and Shafi Mather also participated.

The forum was organised by the EuroIndia Centre, founded in 2001 as a not-for-profit association by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Raymond Barre, former French Prime Minister. The mission of the centre in organising the forum was to network all stakeholders, said a communication.

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