During this time, the call for applications to pair up with other regions in China and Latin America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru) to exchange on sustainability and innovation, also opened. 

During the event, participants understood that the main difference of IURC from IUC is the increased networking opportunities. Under IURC cities and regions may decide to work on a one-to-one basis (pairing) or in clusters in the same Geographical Area considering that some countries will directly assume a multi-pairing format. There will also be more opportunities concrete the focus of cooperation while extending the connections thanks to the Thematic Networks and Cross-Cutting Challenges that will allow interactions at Programme level. IURC will also foster the multi-level governance approach under Thematic Networks. 

Representatives from participating regions will take part in learning exchanges and capacity building activities (e.g. study tours, trainings, networking and thematic events) and will develop together an action plan, which will serve as a road map over the course of cooperation including some actions that can produce transferable results.