Madrid, 20 January 2021-- The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) of Spain, in collaboration with UN-Habitat, held the high level Dialogue on “National Urban Policies (NUP) Spain-Latin America and the Caribbean” in mid-January in which the value of the NUPs was highlighted as one of the key elements of the New Urban Agenda for the acceleration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and as a key tool for socio-economic responses in the post Covid19 recovery.

Senior representatives of national governments and international experts shared their points of view, experiences and good practices in the preparation and implementation of NUP as a tool for the implementation and monitoring of global development agendas, and debated the influence of NUPs on the role that cities and territories must play in social and economic recovery.

David Lucas, Secretary General for Urban Agenda and Housing at MITMA, spoke about the Spanish Urban Agenda, which, as a National Urban Policy, has been identified by the Action Plan of the Government of Spain as one of the lever policies of the 2030 Agenda. He stressed that "the Spanish Urban Agenda is an action plan that serves as a general framework, emphasizing accessible housing and the fight against climate change." He also added that, derived from the pandemic, it is even more necessary to focus policies on the issue of access to adequate housing, eliminate the digital divide and improve health services.

The Dialogue was part of the preparatory activities for the celebration of the first edition of the Urban Forum of Spain to be held in 2021.

The event was moderated by Elkin Velásquez, Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN-Habitat), and had the participation of the Minister of Urban Development and Housing of Ecuador, Julio Recalde,  the Minister of Housing and Human Settlements of Costa Rica, Irene Campos and the Vice Minister of Housing and Urbanism of Bolivia, Roger Cruz.

Others were the Deputy Director of Housing and Urban Development of Colombia, José Antonio Pinzón, and the Director of Land Management and Urban Planning of the Institute of Physical Planning of Cuba, Anelis Marichal. It was inaugurated by the Head of the UN-Habitat Country Office in Spain, Carmen Sánchez-Miranda and the Deputy Director General of Urban Policies of MITMA, Ángela de la Cruz Mera.

The Dialogue also made it possible to strengthen the collaboration and cooperation relationships that have traditionally existed in the area of ​​urban planning and urban policies between Spain and the countries of the Latin American and Caribbean region.

Watch the video review here: shorturl.at/sIKS1

Watch the video of the full dialogue