"Gwalior and Leuven want to exchange ideas"

Supported by European funds, Leuven has begun a collaboration agreement with Gwalior. Both cities plan to support each other in their efforts to develop and renew. Mohamed Ridouani, vice mayor of Leuven, coordinated the visit: "We want to share the knowledge that we have with our Indian 'neighbours', to support them in their city development. At the same time, we want to learn from Gwalior's best practices."

Gwalior is also one of the 100 Indian cities selected a 'Smart City'. The delegation from Gwalior hopes to find inspiration in Leuven about how to handle city mobility and air quality - both major issues in a dense city like Gwalior. "This will open opportunities for our Leuven-based technology and research centers", Ridouani said on his LinkedIn profile. "The economic challenges in India are enormous and at the same time full of potential. Our companies have all the assets to fulfill Indian needs. We have to make sure that the connection between Leuven and Gwalior remains as solid as was demonstrated today."

The Indian delegation visited Health House, FabLab, BioIncubator, Start It @ KBC and VOKA to get to know Leuven's starters and spin-offs and find common ground to work on. They were also very interested in the Leuven approach to heritage conservation and water management.

To be continued...