Following the announcement made during the MUFPP Global Forum held last October in Milan, the second phase of the strategic partnership between MUFPP and AICS – Italian Agency for Development Cooperation was officially signed.
The agreement was formalized on 19 March 2026, at Palazzo Marino, by the Vice Mayor of Milan for Food Policy, Anna Scavuzzo, and the Director of AICS, Marco Riccardo Rusconi. It will further strengthen, over the next three years, the collaboration between the Municipality of Milan and Italian development cooperation in partner countries.
“We are very pleased with our collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), which confirms a level of trust that has grown over time thanks to high-quality projects with a significant impact in terms of both results and relationships and synergies. The collaboration between the Municipality of Milan and Italian Cooperation is strategic, also through joint action with the cities of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which are spread across the world. Italian Cooperation is a partner that provides technical expertise and well-established relationships with partner countries,” said Deputy Mayor Scavuzzo. “It has helped expand the MUFPP network from 252 to over 340 signatory cities, with a significant increase in countries that are priorities for Italian Cooperation, from 18 to 44 cities. This confirms the effectiveness of partnership-based work on shared priorities. At the same time, the collaboration has made it possible to further explore the urban dimensions of the challenges linked to transforming food systems and to appreciate the concrete impact and value of the initiatives implemented by MUFPP cities worldwide.”
The first AICS-MUFPP agreement produced significant results: more than 1,190 officials took part in training activities on urban food policies. Six thematic publications were produced, highlighting experiences from countries that are priorities for Italian Cooperation. Italian Cooperation and MUFPP also jointly participated in major global food systems events, promoting the role of cities, as well as in the 2022 and 2025 editions of the Milan Pact Awards (MPA), serving on the evaluation committee for the prize that highlights best practices in urban food policies. In particular, within the MPA 2025, Jericho (Palestine), Medellín and Bogotá (Colombia), Mbale (Uganda), Nairobi and Kisumu (Kenya) were awarded, and their innovative practices will also be shared in other partner countries of Italian Cooperation.
The new phase of the agreement, active from January 2026 to December 2028, will build on the results achieved and will be more strongly oriented toward policy implementation by cities. The initiative will include technical support pathways for local administrations, exchanges and study visits to strengthen direct collaboration between cities, tools and studies to support policy analysis and planning, and the promotion of best practices through the Milan Pact Awards, whose next edition is scheduled for 2027.
The renewal of this collaboration will further enhance the role of the MUFPP as a leading platform for learning, knowledge exchange and the sharing of innovative solutions to address complex urban challenges, contributing to the sustainable transformation of urban food systems.
