Facilitated by the Cities Alliance and the World Bank, the visit was within the framework of IBSA, a trilateral free trade agreement between India, Brazil and South Africa that includes cooperation in the area of human settlements.
The Indian delegation included representatives of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, the Ministry of Finance, the Planning Commission, the state governments of Maharashtra and Kerala, and the Municipal Corporation of Surat. Cities Alliance Regional Adviser Ajay Suri also participated.
They met with Brazilian officials from the Ministry of Cities, the State Institute for Urban Development, and the Municipality of São Paulo to learn about slum upgrading programmes that have been implemented both cities.
Discussions covered various aspects of the programmes, such as the planning process, implementation, monitoring, funding and community engagement. The Indian group also made field visits to the Alemão, Santa Maria, and Paraisopolis settlements.
In São Paulo, the delegation was given a demonstration of Habisp, an information system to map housing in São Paulo that was supported by the Cities Alliance.
Before departing Brazil, the group met with Cities Alliance Programme Manager William Cobbett and representatives of the World Bank.
