The Provincial Governments of Barcelona and Buenos Aires joined ORU

The Provincial Government of Barcelona (Diputació de Barcelona), in Catalonia, and the Provincial Government of Buenos Aires, Argentina, have just joined the United Regions Organisation. These regions add up to the list of new members that acceded to the organisation during the VII World Summit of Regional Governments in Rio de Janeiro: Drâa Tafilalet, Fès-Meknès and Laayoune-Sakia-El Hamra, in Morocco; Cusco, in Peru; the Departments of Central and Amambay, in Paraguay, and the National Association of Chilean Councillors.

Headed by its President, Mercè Conesa, the Provincial Government of Barcelona covers the 311 municipalities of the Province of Barcelona. By incorporating to ORU Fogar, it will represent the so-called Region of Barcelona. With more than 5.5 million inhabitants, it is one of the territories more economically active across Europe, as well as the main export centre in the Spanish economy and a leading port in the Mediterranean. In a bid to internationalise its territories, the Provincial Government of Barcelona coordinates, through its International Relations Directorate, an active initiative in the fields of European and international cooperation.

For its part, the Province of Buenos Aires –ruled by María Eugenia Vidal and comprising 135 municipalities– is the most populated in the Argentinian Republic, with more than 16 million people (that is 40% of the country’s population). It has one of the most powerful industries in Argentina and is the largest productive force in the country, contributing 37% of the GDP, representing 54.5% of manufactured goods and 35.8 % of exports. On the agricultural side, more than 80% of the country’s cereals are grown in the province.

These two key accessions will bring great benefits to the task of our regional network in favour of the reinforcement of intermediate governments. In all, 9 new regions or regional associations have joined ORU in the first quarter of 2016, and they will certainly contribute to continue to project the voice of the regional governments in the international agenda.   

Image: Òscar Girant, Diputació de Barcleona