The IURC Asia-Australasia programme launched its fourth kick-off meeting in the Asia-Australasia region on 17 July 2025, this time with Malaysian pilot cities: Seberang Perai, Penang (a graduate city) and Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Johor (a newcomer city).
Ms. Viktorija Kaidalova, representing EU Service for Foreign Policy Instruments (Regional Team for Asia and Pacific) during her opening remarks, outlined the programme’s goals, emphasizing its focus on sustainable urban development, climate mitigation and adaptation through city-to-city cooperation.
Mr. Lutz Köppen (REGIO.03 – Cities, Communities, People) representing European Commission – Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) during his welcoming address,expressed enthusiasm for the collaboration and highlighted the programme’s global scope, including partnerships in Asia and the Pacific.
As part of the EU-Malaysia component, the kick-off meeting marked the first official engagement of the participating pilot cities from Johor and Penang with experts from the European Union. The meeting was designed to initiate connections, provide a preliminary orientation to the IURC programme, and build a shared understanding of its long-term vision and goals.
Objectives of the kick-off meeting
The meeting served as a platform for the pilot cities to:
- meet and share their aspirations, share their collective six (6) pilot projects and potential areas they would like to strengthen their urban and regional cooperation with European cities in specific thematic cluster networks.
- generate better understanding of what the EU-Malaysia city-to-city cooperation hopes to achieve.
- ask questions to align thoughts on the targeted focused areas of cooperation.
- receive advice from European counterparts, to manage expectations of the Malaysian cities – what to expect, how IURC Asia-Australasia facilitates this process.
Overview of the IURC Programme
Mr. Pablo Gándara, Team Leader of the IURC Asia-Australasia programme provided an introduction outlining the groundwork for an effective and impactful cooperation journey under the IURC framework. He shared a detailed overview of the programme’s structure and next steps, with the aim of fostering meaningful urban partnerships and addressing urbanization challenges. Then, he outlined the cooperation scheme in detail for the next three years, including the selection of European cities and regions, thematic cluster cooperation starting in September, and events in Barcelona (2025), Singapore (2026) and Brussels (2027). He also emphasized the importance of shared priorities and mutual learning in pilot projects and mentioned the launch of a competitive fund in 2026 to support implementation of these projects.
Malaysian Pilot Cities Strategic Focus
Ms. Jacqueline Chang, Country Manager for Malaysia & Singapore presented the thematic focus networks and sectors for Malaysian pilot and non-pilot cities, highlighting Seberang Perai’s choice on Productive, Smart, and Connected Networks focusing on mobility and transport, sustainable tourism, and culture, while Iskandar Malaysia, Melaka and Kuala Lumpur focus on Green and Clean initiatives (circular economy and climate adaptation). Melaka has also chosen urban regeneration under the Just and Inclusive network.
Iskandar Regional Development Authority represented by Mrs. Kamisah Mohd Ghazali, Head for Resilient Environment together with her team members introduced Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ), emphasizing its strategic location, population, and flagship zones across seven out of eleven (7/11) economic sectors of the JS-SEZ (logistics, manufacturing, digital economy, tourism, food security, energy and green economy), with a focus on sustainability and investment opportunities that strengthen EU-Malaysia trade and investments. She highlighted four (4) proposed pilot projects focusing on the Green and Clean Thematic Network on Climate Mitigation (2 projects) and Climate Adaptation (2 projects). They are:
- Circular Economy Park (CEP): infrastructure development to improve circular economy solutions in Iskandar Malaysia
- Iskandar Malaysia Circular Economy Network App (IMCENA) : a digital platform for circular economy acceleration and industrial symbiosis
- Multi-hazard platform (MHP) for forecasting local level climate extremes and physical hazards in Iskandar Malaysia
- Water Sensitive Urban Design (WSUD) in new development zones
Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) represented by Mrs. Amira binti Ahmad, Head of Assistant Director Corporate Department appointed Mr. Chew Eng Seng, Head of Education & Promotion Environment Unit and Mr Mohd Nizam bin Abu Bakar, Assistant Urban Town Planning Officer, Urban Services Department to deliver the presentation.
MBSP presented two main projects focused on the Productive Smart and Connected Network: Auto City’s sustainability initiatives and the Green and Clean Thematic Network on Climate Adaptation: Juru River ecotourism project. Mr Nizam Bakar reported that Auto City has implemented various green measures in the energy sector (renewable energy & energy efficiency), wastewater treatment, circular waste management, green urban mobility and creation of green spaces. Mr. Chew Eng Seng explained that the Juru River Rejuvenation project aims to transform 6 kilometres of riverbanks and surrounding areas into an ecotourism destination, focusing on biodiversity conservation and local community development. Both projects seek international cooperation and funding to achieve their sustainability goals, with specific targets related to Penang’s Green Transition to New Economy and strengthening nature-based solutions with guidance from IUCN Global Standard for Nature-based Solutions criteria and guided by global frameworks such as European Commission’s NbS Impact Assessment Framework.
European-Malaysian Urban Learning Initiative
The cities discussed and shared past collaborations with European cities, including experiences with Japan and Portugal, and how they would like to explore potential future partnerships. The discussion emphasized the importance of sharing best practices and expertise, with particular interest in the multi-hazard platform and capacity building for local authorities. Mr. Pablo Gándara during the interactive discussion session shared with the cities on the launch of a peer-to-peer learning initiative between European and Malaysian cities, outlining monthly thematic cluster knowledge-sharing sessions and Ms. Jacqueline Chang introducing masterclasses for high-demand topics. Pablo emphasized the need for concrete outputs from city collaborations, referencing a previous pilot project between Melaka and Bologna (Italy), and outlined key next steps for Malaysian cities, including participation in monthly national coordination meetings, identifying representatives for the Barcelona Smart City Expo, and developing an Urban Cooperation Action Plan (U-CAP) by February 2026. Ms. Viktorija Kadailova stressed the importance of mutual learning and practical outcomes, and the European Urban Initiative (EUI) was introduced by Mr. Lutz Köppen as a platform for further collaboration, by drawing inspiration from the Urban Agenda for the EU Thematic Partnerships (read here) related to topics discussed (water sensitive cities, sustainable food, food security etc) and invited the pilot cities to use the know-how in their collaborative projects with EU cities. As a result, the pilot cities had the opportunity to align expectations, understand ways they could scale and begin thinking collaboratively about their target areas for cooperation.
H.E. Rafael Daerr, Ambassador of the European Union to Malaysia & Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Malaysia in his letters congratulating the Mayor of Seberang Perai and Chief Executive of IRDA also expressed that the city-to-city cooperation as follows:
“We believe the multi-pronged approach focusing on climate actions, trade and investments throughout the programme will produce win-win outcomes for everyone”.
The kick-off meeting ended with appreciation and thanks to all present and the valuable inputs shared with the cities. We would like to thank the following people who were also present at the meeting: Ms. Kanyarat Aksorn, Project Assistant, IURC Asia-Australasia and from the private sector Mr. Gary Teoh Kiang Hong, Managing Director and Madam Ong Bee Lee, Director of Auto-City, Penang for their great support since the start of the IURC Asia-Australasia programme (2021-2023).
International Urban and Regional Cooperation Asia & Australasia (IURC AA)
Iskandar Regional Development Authority & Seberang Perai (pilot cities) together with Kuala Lumpur and Melaka (non-pilot cities which participate in online knowledge sharing sessions) alongside peers from Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, India, People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong, Taiwan have been successfully selected under the EU-funded IURC Asia-Australasia programme. A total of 30 EU cities, 30 AA cities, 12 EU and 11 AA regions have qualified for this Phase 2025-2027.
For further information on EU-Malaysia Urban & Regional Cooperation please contact: Ms. Jacqueline Chang, Country Manager for Malaysia and Singapore | Cluster Manager for Circular Economy at jchang@iurc.eu