A news conference is held by the Foreign Affairs Office of Tianjin Municipal People's Government on May 11 to discuss preparations for the Global Forum on Urban Development.

The Global Forum on Urban Development, set to be held on May 19, is an important part of the forthcoming 5th World Intelligence Congress, which will take place from May 20-23.

The forum, sponsored by the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and the Tianjin Municipal Government, will be attended by nine mayors of Tianjin's sister cities, 49 diplomatic envoys to China and a number of renowned scholars.

A total of 350 people, including representatives of sister cities' institutions in Tianjin and other fields, are expected to participate both online and offline.

With the theme of "Urban Governance in the New Smart Era", the forum will be an important opportunity to promote Tianjin's internationalization and deepen its cooperation with its sister cities. It aims to deepen the sister cities' relationships, promote new patterns of development in the smart era, and lead the future of global urban development.

Being a high-level international event, the Global Forum on Urban Development will also strengthen cooperation with its sister cities in the economy, technology and culture, promote international communication in the context of epidemic prevention and control, and serve Tianjin's high-quality development.