Agenda item

            (Mrs C. McKeown, Sustainable Development Manager, attended in connection with this Item)

            The Chief Executive explained that Belfast City Council had been invited to participate in the fully-funded European Union World Cities project for 2017 and had been selected to partner with Durban, South Africa, and three other EU cities namely, Birmingham, Bilbao and Gratz.

            The Committee was advised that the project supported the exchange of information, experience and best practice on sustainability issues such as developing the green economy, energy security, mobility, circular economy and smart city solutions, innovation and new business starts.  She reminded the Members that those topics were also at the heart of the Belfast Agenda, the Local Development Plan and the City Centre Regeneration plan.

            The Committee was advised that the project was piloted in 2016 when Dublin, Lazio and West Midland regions were twinned with cities in China and India, and the evaluation of the project had shown very successful outcomes.

            The Sustainable Development Manager explained to the Members that Belfast had been pre-selected by the World Cities project and had been invited to submit an application in February, 2017.  She reported that there had been significant interest in the project from the Council’s partners in the Department for the Economy, Invest NI, the NI Digital Catapult INNOVATE UK, both Universities, the Centre for Advanced Sustainable Energy (CASE) and the NI Office in Brussels.

            The Committee was advised that, this year, the World Cities project offered EU cities an opportunity to develop partnerships with either South Korea, South Africa, Indonesia, Australia or Vietnam and, in order to be successful, the participating EU city would have to have established and demonstrable links to the non-EU country with which it was paired. 

            A Member expressed concern that an opportunity had perhaps been missed in not having been paired with Australia, given the number of people who had left Northern Ireland to live in Australia over the last number of years. 

            In response, the Sustainable Development Manager advised the Committee that the EU World Cities organisers made the decision as to which cities were paired.  She outlined to the Members that Belfast had long established links with South Africa, with Universities in both cities uniquely recognised as international centres for the study of conflict resolution and, more recently, the cities of Belfast, Durban and Cape Town were now linked together through engagement in the global Rockefeller 100 Resilient Cities programme.

            The Members were advised that both Belfast and Durban faced similar economic, social and cultural challenges.  The Sustainable Development Manager explained that Invest NI also planned to open its first permanent office in Johannesburg in late 2017 and that, during the time of the proposed study visit in March, 2017, Invest NI would host an outward mission to South Africa with Northern Ireland companies involved in the mining industry.  The Members were also advised that trade with South Africa was in the region of £35million per annum and that it was increasing. 

            In response to a further Member’s question, the Director of Development agreed to provide the Committee with the trade figures for the other countries named in the report at a future date.

            The Committee was advised that the European Commission’s Directorate General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) would cover the full cost and content support for the programme over the forthcoming year, including:

·        a delegation of up to 5 people from Belfast City to visit Durban 27th-31st March, 2017, for the first meeting of the network;

·        a further World Cities seminar in Brussels in October 2017, where one representative from Belfast would be funded to attend;

·        a delegation of 4 representatives from Durban to travel to Belfast for reciprocal meetings with networks in October 2017; and

·        one final meeting with the pairing city in the first quarter of 2018.

            After discussion, the Committee:

1.     noted the successful application to EU World Cities and agreed to take part in the project;

2.     agreed to the attendance of the Chairperson, or her nominee, and one officer, on the Durban visit on 27th-31st March, noting that all costs would be met by the EU;

3.     noted the proposal to invite up to three representatives from Invest NI, Department for the Economy (DfE) or relevant collaborative networks;

4.     agreed that the trade figures for the other countries named in the report be submitted to the Committee for its information; and

5.     agreed to keep the International Relations Framework under review in light of changing circumstances.