Metropolises are at the forefront of many global crises, such as climate change, food security, and migration. For this reason, they are increasingly assuming a proactive role within the international ecosystem. Their international engagement is becoming ever more necessary to formulate policies aimed at strengthening the management of metropolitan territories, particularly beyond the current cycle of global agendas concluding in 2030 and in anticipation of new international contexts that may arise in the future.
The “Metropolitan Diplomacy" report, published by UN-Habitat in collaboration with the Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB), establishes a strategic framework for metropolitan areas to serve as decisive actors in global governance. It defines metropolitan diplomacy as the actions and strategies used by metropolitan regions to influence international spheres and cooperate beyond municipal boundaries to address systemic challenges such as climate change, migration, and inequality.
The report emphasizes that while city diplomacy focuses on bilateral municipal cooperation, metropolitan diplomacy addresses a broader range of issues - like regional mobility and territorial planning - that require collective solutions across entire metropolitan territories. It details a decade of diplomatic evolution, from the Montreal Declaration (2015) to the Barcelona Metropolitan Declaration (2025), the latter of which calls for the formal recognition of metropolitan areas as full partners in global governance.
The report provides a roadmap for the future, recommending the institutionalization of diplomacy within metropolitan structures and the development of Voluntary Metropolitan Reports (VMRs) to monitor SDG progress. By aligning metropolitan actions with emerging global frameworks such as the Pact for the Future and the Global Digital Compact, this document provides a comprehensive guidance for advancing inclusive, resilient, and multi-level governance in the post-2030 agenda.
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