Networking
Networking, in partnership with prestigious national and international institutions, is essential for promoting AML's image internally and externally.
Noteworthy in this regard is the partnership work in Metrex, a Network of European Regions and Metropolitan Areas, EMA, a European forum of metropolitan authorities, Forum Oceano, a national association of maritime activities, and with Ilê de France, through the signing of a declaration, in favor of an international commitment that unites regions, sub-national governments and metropolitan areas in favor of mobilizing resources for the climate.
Metrex
The network was founded in 1996 at the Conference of Metropolitan Regions in Glasgow, with the support of the European Commission.
Its aim is to provide the means to promote efficient and responsive metropolitan management.
The network includes members from 40 regions and metropolitan areas, including the Lisbon Metropolitan Area and the Porto Metropolitan Area.
It also has European institutions, research centers, government organizations and other networks as partners.
Metrex meets twice a year and holds a major conference every two years. It also organizes expert working groups and projects financed by EU funds.
EMA
A forum for leading politicians from Europe's metropolitan areas.
Its main objective is to provide a space to discuss the challenges of European metropolitan governance and lay the foundations for collaboration between Europe's main metropolises.
Presented in 2015 by the Barcelona Metropolitan Area, it has become an active platform for political dialogue between metropolitan areas and cities, European institutions and national governments.
The work carried out together takes the form of studies, meetings and projects, and an annual forum that concludes with a political declaration adopted by the participants, advocating a metropolitan dimension to European policies.
Ocean Forum
Fórum Oceano is a non-profit organization under private law, with unlimited duration and national scope, which supports the development of maritime activities in Portugal.
It is made up of companies (public and private), educational institutions, R&D centers, associations (business and others) and local government bodies.
Its vectors and strategic axes of action are:
- Entrepreneurship and business development
- Innovation and modernization
- Knowledge and technologies applied to the sea
- Internationalization
- Strategic information and monitoring.
Ilê de France
The sharing of expertise in public policies to combat climate change, the development of partnerships with international development institutions and agencies to improve access to public funding in the field of climate change adaptation, and the involvement, cooperation and mobilization of international partners in climate action, are the essential lines of a declaration of intent, signed between the Île-de-France region and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area in November 2022, at the AML headquarters.
The declaration is in favor of an international commitment that unites regions, sub-national governments and metropolitan areas to mobilize resources for the climate.
A memorandum of understanding on climate action was also signed between the two regions, recognizing the global climate emergency and the commitment to the goals of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the objectives of the European Green Deal.
According to the document, the regions of Lisbon and Paris recognize the urgency of adapting their territories to climate change and reducing the vulnerabilities and risk exposure of their communities, committing to take continuous and coordinated action to achieve the strategic objectives of their climate action plans, in accordance with the principles of sustainability, territorial equity, and social and territorial justice.
It was also decided to hold an enlarged summit of the regions in Île-de-France to discuss climate action.
Diaspora Investor Support Network
The Lisbon Metropolitan Area joined the Diaspora Investor Support Network in 2023.
The National Program to Support Diaspora Investors is aimed at Portuguese emigrants and people of Portuguese descent who wish to invest or expand their economic activities in Portugal, as well as Portuguese companies seeking to internationalize their businesses through the diaspora.
It provides systematic and institutional monitoring of the strategic potential of Portuguese communities living abroad and serves as a tool for promoting Portugal internationally and for developing the economic and business fabric of the country and its regions.
The Área Metropolitana de Lisboa has an aggregating competence, and support for investors is provided by the municipalities' entrepreneurial support mechanisms (agencies, incubators and others).
It is the responsibility of AML to serve as the liaison between the coordinators of the National Program to Support Diaspora Investors and the investors and exporters.
Its responsibilities also include identifying, mapping, and listing existing investments or those to be made in the respective municipalities that originate from Portuguese communities and entrepreneurs in the diaspora; assessing the costs associated with specific investment contexts; disseminating best practices; and evaluating investment outcomes, promoting investment roadmaps for the diaspora in Portugal, and disseminating projects, initiatives, and concrete examples of diaspora investment or internationalization through the diaspora.