Morocco capital receives UCLG members.

The 12th UCLG Executive Bureau, hosted by the City of Rabat (Morocco), was officially opened on Thursday 23^rd June by Fathallah Oualalou, Mayor of Rabat. The Executive Bureau took place from 22 to 24 June in the capital city of Morocco, counting with over 300 participants, including 200 local and regional leaders from 40 countries from all continents, among those, the representatives from the UCLG Eurasian Section,
The UCLG Executive Bureau comprises 115 members from around the world and meets twice a year. This statutory meeting was the first meeting of the Executive Bureau after renewal of the Governing Bodies in Mexico last November.

One of the main decisions of the Bureau was the appointment of Josep Roig, Secretary General of Metropolis, as new Secretary General of UCLG. The President of UCLG, Kadir Topbas, expressed the trust that the Organisation was putting in Mr Roig’s great capacity to carry forward the work of UCLG. The appointed Secretary General expressed his honour to be appointed and expressed his intention to work with all members and regions to make the World Organisation stronger.

The Executive Bureau was chaired by Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul (Turkey) and President of UCLG, by Co-President Antonio Costa, Mayor of Lisbon (Portugal) and by Fathallah Oualalou, Mayor of Rabat (Morroco).
 
On Thursday 23^rd, the opening session was dedicated to local and regional governments’ working towards innovation, with presentations of Wan Qingliang, Mayor of Guangzhou (China), Anne-Marie Jorritsma, Mayor of Almere (Netherlands) and special guests of the World Bank, Cities Alliance and representatives of national governments and financial institutions.

In his opening address, the President of UCLG, Kadir Topbas, Mayor of Istanbul, summarised the efforts of the UCLG Presidency to work on three pillars: leading the organisation; promoting membership and bringing the voice of the World Organisation before the international community. President Topbas mentionned the need to promote strong local democratic government at the service of the citizens worldwide. He stressed the positive developments in UCLG relations with the UN and he quoted Ban Ki Moon that had recently defined UCLG as a global ally of the United Nations in recent meetings with US mayors. He further highlighted the important work before us in updating  the sustainability agenda, introducing culture as the fourth pillar of sustainable development, the renewal of the aid effectiveness agenda and addressing the issue of health and access to basic services .

The Executive Bureau further agreed to create an Standing Committee on Gender Equality in order to truly push forward the participation of women in local decision making and to boost up the role of women leaders all the work of UCLG.

The regional workshop on financing infrastructure investment in Africa brought together 80 local leaders of most countries in the continent and made recommendations on urban infrastructure finance in Africa.  

Members further agreed to devote the Third Global Report on Local Democracy and Decentralization (GOLD III) to the Governance of Local Public Services. The Executive Bureau also dedicated a full day to redefining strategic priorities of the organization after the first six years of existence.

The Executive Bureau committed to explore possibilities to support local governments in Ivory Coast and Nigeria. The UCLG leadership called for solidarity and denounced the situation of the civilian populations which are suffering oppression and destruction by their governments, in particular currently in countries of the Mediterranean and Middle East.

23.06.2011

Back to the list