General Assembly of UCLG-Eurasia in Cairo. Outcomes

On the days of the World Urban Forum, on November 6, 2024, the General Assembly of UCLG-Eurasia, a General Meeting of Members held every three years, took place in Cairo (Egypt).

Ilsur Metshin, President of UCLG-Eurasia, President of the UN Advisory Committee on Local Self-Government, Mayor of Kazan, addressed the participants with a welcoming speech: “Two weeks ago, an event that could change the course of world history – the BRICS Summit took place in Kazan. In addition to the heads of states, the leaders of six international organizations arrived at the Summit, including António Guterres, UN Secretary General. I personally met with the Secretary General, and he assured me that the updated structure of the UN will provide a seat for local and regional governments, who will be officially represented at the negotiating table and will be able to contribute to the formation of the global agenda.”

The General Assembly of UCLG-Eurasia was moderated by Ilya Nozhechkin, Chairman of the Ulyanovsk City Duma. Concerning the first item on the agenda, Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia, presented a report on the organization’s activities over the past three years, talking about the key events held by the Eurasia Section, the work in informing Eurasia local governments about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the contribution to the preservation and popularization of heritage, the development of a review of women's representation in the leadership of Eurasian cities and the role of UCLG-Eurasia in the unifying work to create the Association of BRICS Cities.

Vera Galushko, Chairperson of the Krasnodar City Duma, commented on the presented report, noting: "The work has been done in a voluminous and high-quality manner. It is gratifying that UCLG-Eurasia continues its activities on the rise, sets new goals and objectives, and successfully achieves their solution. The main result of the organization's activities is seen in the continuation and deepening of the global dialogue between representatives of dozens of countries, their friendly communication, and unification around creative goals."

The General Assembly was accompanied by the adoption of decisions on a number of key issues. During the General Assembly, Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan, was re-elected as President of UCLG-Eurasia, and Aisen Nikolaev, Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), and Aibek Dzhunushaliev, Mayor of Bishkek, were elected Vice-Presidents of UCLG-Eurasia.

A new member was accepted into UCLG-Eurasia – the Galsky District of the Republic of Abkhazia. Nika Chekheria, a representative of the Galsky District, was handed over the certificate of acceptance of the district into the UCLG-Eurasia’s membership. Evgeny Kadyshev, a member of the audit commission and Chairman of the Cheboksary City Assembly of Deputies, presented an expenditure estimate for 2025. During the meeting, the UCLG-Eurasia Council was elected for the period from 2024 to 2027. The Council included heads of municipalities and regions such as the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Bishkek, Comrat, Kazan, Innopolis, Tiraspol, Ulaanbaatar, Ufa, Tomsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ulyanovsk, Agryz, Nizhnekamsk, Yalta, Krasnodar, Veliky Novgorod, Khanty-Mansiysk, Perm, Stavropol, Grozny, Moscow, Khujand.

The second part of the General Assembly was devoted to the thematic discussion: "Relevant Issues in Eurasia cities. Sharing experience." The discussion was moderated by Evgeniya Lodvigova, Vice-Mayor of Kazan. Emilia Saiz, Secretary General of the UCLG World Organization, took part in this block of the event, welcoming the participants and wishing them productive work. Sergey Cheremin, Minister of the Government of Moscow, Head of the Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations, told the participants about international activities of the Government of Moscow, the use of almost all management tools to achieve the SDGs: "We have already implemented six Sustainable Development Goals by one hundred percent. A month ago, we presented a voluntary report at the UN conference in Brazil." Abdurakhmon Abdurakhmonzoda, Deputy Chairman of the City of Dushanbe, made a report on the introduction of digital technologies and digitalization, the implementation of a number of projects related to transport management, digital economy, smart medicine, lighting, green energy, etc. Victoria Mozgacheva, Deputy Mayor of Bishkek, presented a report on the development of the Voluntary Local Review on SDGs. Ilie Ceban, Deputy Mayor of Chișinău, shared his experience on how IT technologies were implemented in urban planning in Chișinău. Yanina Pavlenko, Head of the Yalta City Administration, spoke about the reconstruction of the historical center of Alupka. The speech of Alexandra Ignatyeva, Head of the Tekstilshchiki Municipal District in Moscow, Chairperson of the Expert Council of the Union of Russian Cities, was dedicated to the preparation of a model law on creative industries. Dmitry Vandyukov, Mayor of Innopolis, presented a report on the youngest city in Russia, whose mission is “to create favorable conditions for IT specialists, IT companies and representatives of creative professions.” Nika Chekheria, representative of the Galsky District of the Republic of Abkhazia, delivered a speech about the tourism potential and natural heritage of the Galsky District.

In addition, the General Assembly of UCLG-Eurasia was attended by Konstantin Shimanovsky, Head of Yalta of the Republic of Crimea; Victor Baldzhi, Deputy Mayor of Comrat; Dmitry Ivanov, Head of the Chistopol; Lenar Nurgayanov, Mayor of the Agryz; Andrey Maximov, Director General of the Union of Russian Cities, Chairman of the Commission on Territorial Development and Local Self-Government of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation; Lenar Shakirzyanov, Head of the Executive Committee of the Buinsk Municipal District; Ilie Ceban, Deputy Mayor of Chișinău; Svetlana Dogotaru, Chief Architect of the Chișinău Municipality; Mihaela Sultan, Chief Engineer of the Chișinău Municipality;

Vsevolod Netreba, Deputy Mayor of Krasnodar; Lyudmila Golovchenko, Chairperson of the Committee for Industry, Transport and Communications; as well as representatives of Mendeleyevsk, Yelabuga, Zelenodolsk, Leninogorsk, Bugulma, Naberezhnye Chelny, Ufa, the Far Eastern Congress of Tatars, the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and others.

Alexander Shchelokov, Mayor of Arzamas; Alexander Rozbaum, Mayor of Veliky Novgorod; Elena Kovaleva, Mayor of Kirov; Maxim Ryashin, Mayor of Khanty-Mansiysk; Dmitry Makhinya, Mayor of Tomsk; Vladimir Korbut, Chairman of the Omsk City Council; Georgy Kolyagin, Chairman of the Stavropol City Duma; Zinaida Neyarokhina, Chairperson of the City Duma - Mayor of Rostov-on-Don and others joined the General Assembly online.

08.11.2024

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