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.