The launch of the process was announced following a meeting held by the two mayors at a hotel located on the border between the two municipalities.

“Both municipal councils and their mayors have committed to initiating, here and today, the process of creating a Minho Metropolitan Area,” stated João Rodrigues when speaking to journalists.

He added that the process is not “centred solely” on those two municipalities. Still, he emphasised that Braga and Guimarães, home to the region’s two largest urban centres, have an “obligation” to move forward.

“We cannot remain stuck in the idea, which has been taking hold over recent years, of just promising, promising, promising. Promising to study, promising to think about it,” he noted.

For the mayor of Braga, the creation of the metropolitan area “is a matter clearly embraced by various political forces,” and “the communities themselves clearly share the view and understand that this is the path forward.”

“There are several areas where this metropolitan dynamic is already felt; for this dynamic to bring even greater quality of life to citizens and improvements to the various communities, we must have the necessary tools to promote better policies and make this region even better than it already is,” João Rodrigues added.

He further noted that this step was only possible because Braga and Guimarães currently have mayors “who get along, who talk to one another, and who are committed to intensifying this dialogue moving forward.”

The mayor of Guimarães stated that today “makes history,” as a concrete step has been taken toward creating the Minho Metropolitan Area.

“We have been discussing this extensively with other municipalities; various studies are being developed and finalised. However, I believe there is now a sense across the region of the benefits offered by a new structure that enables the coordination, planning, and implementation of joint policies,” said Ricardo Araújo.

He emphasised that the region needs “a strong voice capable of being heard in Lisbon” and “a structure that can implement policies, secure funding, align efforts, and carry out joint initiatives.”

“And that is precisely what we are doing and clearly stating here today,” he stressed.

According to Ricardo Araújo, contacts have already been established with the municipalities comprising the Cávado and Ave inter-municipal communities. These discussions revealed that creating the metropolitan area is “widely accepted” by the various political forces in the region and by those who actually hold executive responsibilities in the different municipalities.

“Of course, participation is voluntary,” he added, emphasising that no one would be excluded.

He noted that, “now or in the future,” the process could be expanded to include other municipalities, such as Viana do Castelo.