Meeting at the Canadian Embassy in Paris on an official mission, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Montreal Port Authority (MPA) Martin Imbleau and Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante signed the Worldwide Network of Port Cities (AIVP) Agenda 2030. Through this commitment, the City of Montreal and the Port of Montreal strengthen their determination as a port city to jointly implement the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Created in 1998, the Worldwide Network of Port Cities aims to improve city-port relations to achieve urban, port and economic development that is more sustainable, responsible and innovative. To help port cities steer their way through this process, the AIVP 2030 Agenda sets 10 goals to be achieved by 2030 based on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
This course of action invites port-city stakeholders to experiment with innovative solutions on such issues as adapting to climate change, energy transition, sustainable mobility, port culture and identity, the city-port interface and protecting biodiversity. In this way, the AIVP 2030 Agenda aims to strengthen the city-port relationship through mutual cooperation that places citizens at the heart of its efforts.
“The City and the Port of Montreal share a common purpose and a vision for the future based on sustainable land use planning, decarbonization, improving the city-port interface and opening up to citizens. The collaboration between these two entities is all the more natural because it is part of our converging strategies. Thanks to AIVP 2030 Agenda, I am certain that we will succeed not only in strengthening Montreal’s assets as a major port city, but also in rethinking the urban space in light of best practices,” said Martin Imbleau, President and Chief Executive Officer of the MPA.
“I am very proud to enhance collaboration between the City and the Port of Montreal through the signing of the AIVP 2030 Agenda. Port operations are essential to the city’s economic development. By implementing the goals in the 2030 Agenda, the City and the Port will be able to keep working to make these operations greener, more sustainable, and better integrated into the surrounding urban fabric,” said Valérie Plante, Mayor of Montréal.
AIVP members since 2022 and 1993 respectively, the City of Montreal and the MPA had already been working together for several years to achieve the goals set out in the 2030 Agenda.
The joint signing of the Agenda 2030 by the MPA and the City of Montreal will make it possible to strengthen the collaboration and joint projects between both institutions. The City of Montreal and the Port of Montreal are already working together through a liaison committee on several matters, such as the city-port interface, promoting maritime culture, protecting biodiversity, cohabiting with neighbouring communities and adapting to climate change. The Port of Montreal has also pledged to invest $10 million, or 1.5% of its budget, in the city-port interface on projects that will improve the positive social impact of port activities for the benefit of communities near its facilities.
Photo from left to right: Serge Lamontagne, Director General of the City of Montreal; Valérie Plante, Mayor of the City of Montreal; the Honourable Stéphane Dion, Canadian Ambassador to France; Bruno Delsalle, Director General of AIVP and Martin Imbleau, President and CEO of MPA. Photo credit: André Caty (CNW Group/Montreal Port Authority)
