The USLG retreat “Eurasia Cities and Global Trends” is being held in Kazan for the first time

The retreat “Eurasia Cities and Global Trends” organized by the World Organization “United Cities and Local Governments” (UCLG) together with the Kazan Mayor’s Office started today at the Kazan City Hall.  Sixty delegations from 20 countries, including China, Turkey, Lebanon, South Africa, gathered for the three-day event in the capital of the republic of Tatarstan. In addition to representatives of the UCLG Eurasia section, the presidents and members of the Asia-Pacific and Middle East sections, as well as the South African Union of Local Governments came to Kazan.

The Eurasian retreat is a traditional platform for the exchange of experience and practices. It is being held in Kazan for the first time. The UCLG annual retreat takes place in Barcelona. The three-day seminar in the capital of the republic of Tatarstan opened with a plenary session on the issue of international municipal cooperation and global trends. The President of the UCLG Eurasia Section, the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin spoke at the session.

“It is a great honor for us to host such a representative Eurasian forum today. Today, the leaders of municipalities from more than 60 cities of 20 countries have gathered here,”-  the Mayor said. He added that the development of horizontal ties between municipalities is an important global trend that makes cities stronger.

As the head of a multinational city, he said that there is on ongoing dialogue of cultures and religions in Kazan. The capital of Tatarstan develops and learns new things in this interaction, acquires the ability to discover the world more fully and vividly.

“Another uniqueness of Kazan is the rapid breakthrough that the city has made in recent years. Thanks to this, the capital of Tatarstan today is one of the recognized leaders among the Russian cities with a population of over one million, the venue for global events: from world championships to economic forums, such as the forum that ended last week and the BRICS summit scheduled for 2024,”-  the Mayor stressed.

 “The program includes presentations by authoritative speakers, consultations, exchange of best practices and business games. This will increase the competence of municipal leaders in achieving sustainable development goals,”- the Mayor believes.

Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary General, addressed the participants of the session by video mode.

The delegates were also addressed by the head of the UCLG Asia-Pacific Section Ashok Kumar. In his speech, he noted that without joint coordinated work, municipal authorities will not be able to ensure the future of cities.

During the session, the participants voiced existing global problems, shared their experience in city management, and suggested practices that would help establish connections to solve problems.

Practical issues of inter-municipal cooperation were raised by the head of the Department of Public Diplomacy of Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States Affairs, Compatriots Living Abroad, and International Humanitarian Cooperation (Rossotrudnichestvo) Ekaterina Torubarova. According to her, 2,200 twinning ties have been established in Russia. Separately, she focused on the topic of interaction with youth: “If there are young mayors in your staff reserve, we will try to make an event for them. We will bring them to Kazan, we will think over educational blocks. We think it will be interesting.”

In his speech, the President of Union of Dannie Municipalities, President of UCLG -MEWA Section Mohamed Saadieh addressed the Mayor of the capital of the republic of Tatarstan.

“Ilsur Metshin and his team have done a great job to make Kazan a notable city and show that he personally and the city deserves excellent development. You contribute to the development of the future of Tatarstan and Russia, you are well–known worldwide, your contribution is unforgettable,”- he said.

At the end of the session, Ilsur Metshin awarded Rasikh Sagitov, Eurasian Section Secretary General, with the gratitude of Russian President Vladimir Putin.