To the Secretaries General and Directors of The

Paris, 3 October 2007

To the Secretaries General and Directors of the

national associations and associate members

To the members of the world affairs

committee

To the members of CEMR’s network on

North/South local government cooperation

Dear Madam, Dear Sir,

Seminar “Local and Regional Authorities – Key Partners in Development Co-operation"

- Lisbon, 7 November 2007

I am pleased to inform you that CEMR is organising a seminar on “local and regional authorities – key partners in development co-operation” on 7 November 2007 in Lisbon, upon the invitation of the ANMP.

This seminar will take place on the occasion of the European Commission’s “Development Days”, organised from 7 to 9 November in Lisbon in the context of the Portuguese Presidency of the EU (website: http://ec.europa.eu/development/services/events/EDD/Homepage_en.html ).

Local authorities are now recognised as actors in development co-operation in the new community programme for 2007-2013. We believe that it is important to mark our presence and promote our message during the Development Days. In addition, the European Union / Africa Summit will take place in Lisbon in December 2007, and we are preparing to arrange a contribution on behalf of local and regional authorities on this occasion, in co-operation with our World Organisation UCLG.

We would therefore like to invite CEMR’s national associations to help us ensure a good participation at the seminar: of the members of the network on North/South local government cooperation and the world affairs committee, as well as elected representatives and experts from your country who are active in this field.

The seminar will be held at the hotel Tryp Oriente, in the Exhibition park of Lisbon. Interpretation will be provided in English, French and Portuguese. Please find enclosed the draft programme.

You will also find enclosed the registration form which we ask you to kindly return to CEMR before 26 October (, fax: 33 1 44 50 59 60).

ANMP has pre-booked some hotel rooms at the Tryp Oriente hotel. You are invited to book your rooms directly through the travel agency “OMNITUR”, with which ANMP has negotiated special rates. The contact at the agency is Sofia de Carvalho (, tel. +351243333828, fax +351243371900). We encourage you to reserve your rooms as soon as possible as October and November are very busy months in Lisbon, and the Development Days will bring many participants to the city.

For any further information, please do not hesitate to contact CEMR’s secretariat: Sandra Ceciarini, as well as Nina Holbrook and Cécile Grauvogel (, tel. +33 1 44 50 59 59).

Yours sincerely,

(signed)

Jeremy SMITH