Today, at Palazzo Marino, in the presence of the Deputy Mayor of Milan with responsibility for Food Policy, Anna Scavuzzo, and the Director of the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), Marco Riccardo Rusconi, the agreement for the renewal of the convention aimed at strengthening the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact (MUFPP) was signed. The MUFPP is the most important international pact, signed in 2015 as a legacy of Expo, committing mayors from around the world to the development of healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable urban food systems.
The agreement will further strengthen, over the next three years, the collaboration between the Municipality of Milan and Italian Development Cooperation in partner countries.
The convention, announced during the MUFPP Global Forum held last October in Milan, represents the second phase of a strategic collaboration launched in 2023.
“Great satisfaction comes from the collaboration with Italian Cooperation, which confirms a trust that has grown over time thanks to high-quality projects, with significant impact both in terms of results and relationships and synergies. The collaboration between our two institutions is strategic, also through joint action with the cities of the Milan Urban Food Policy Pact, which are spread all over the world. Italian Cooperation is a partner that offers technical expertise and well-established relationships with partner countries,” said Anna Scavuzzo, Deputy Mayor of Milan with responsibility for Food Policy. “It has contributed to expanding the MUFPP network from 252 to over 340 signatory cities, with a significant increase in countries prioritized by Italian Cooperation, from 18 to 44 cities. This confirms the effectiveness of partnership work on shared priorities. At the same time, the collaboration has made it possible to deepen the urban dimensions of challenges related to the transformation of food systems and to appreciate the concrete impact and value of initiatives carried out by MUFPP cities around the world.”
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 priority countries. Italian Cooperation and MUFPP also jointly participated in major events on the global food systems agenda, 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 recognizes best practices in urban food policies. In particular, within MPA 2025, Jericho (Palestine), Medellín and Bogotá (Colombia), Mbale (Uganda), Nairobi and Kisumu (Kenya) were awarded; 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 focused on policy implementation by cities. The initiative will include, in particular, 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 key platform for learning, knowledge exchange, and sharing innovative solutions to address complex urban challenges, contributing to the sustainable transformation of urban food systems.
