Carlos Maya, mayor of the city of Pereira, Colombia, smiled when he heard the stories of the mayors of the Great Metropolitan Area of San José Costa Rica. All are dealing with the same metropolitan challenges of providing for massive, inclusive and green, public transport. The city of Pereira shared their experiences on the Megabus, Megacable, Megabici, and on the public-private collaboration through the Pereira Energy Enterprise on electric transport and charging stations. The association of capital cities of Colombia (Asocapitales) elaborated on intermunicipal cooperation, governance and financial models behind the mobility strategies. 

The Costa Rican municipalities are working on a metropolitan approach in the area of influence of the train network. This is supported with an EU funded project for partnerships for sustainable cities (mUEve), where VNG International is a partner, together with the Spanish municipality of Fomento de San Sebastian and National Association of Local Government in Costa Rica. 

VNG International invited the municipality of Pereira, based on the strong collaboration we have in the governance of inclusive green growth in cities (DEALS) project, working on the formalisation of informal waste recyclers for better social and economic working and living conditions and a better environment for the city.