The city of Madrid will host the second edition of the Arab-European Cities Dialogue Forum in March 2027 (dates pending confirmation). It is an event which seeks to strengthen ties between municipal leaders, communities and institutions and facilitate the exchange of points of view on urban, economic, social and environmental challenges.
Madrid will host the next meeting and chair the forum in order to keep up the momentum of the first forum held in May 2025 in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia and its leading business centre, as well as strengthening cooperation between Arab and European cities that could form a continuous region of development in geographical terms.
The first edition of the Arab-European Cities Dialogue Forum, organised by the city of Riyadh, along with the Arab Institute for Urban Development, the European PLATFORMA network and VNG International, brought together mayors, local authorities and representatives of urban organisations, municipal associations, banks and development funds. The forum was attended by 120 mayors and 50 organisations linked to 20 significant urban development initiatives.
The forum addressed key issues in the fields of infrastructures, public services, digitalisation, sustainable funding and climate change. Its programme included round tables, workshops, interactive sessions, technical visits and an exclusive forum for mayors. In addition to the exchange of experiences, the forum seeks to build a strategic alliance between Arab and European cities and it also fosters capital expenditure through contact between funders and those responsible for major urban projects, unlike other forums which focus on dialogue.
