Ilsur Metshin speaks at the World Assembly of Local Governments in Kenya

The Mayor of Kazan called for capacity building of regional and local authorities

The congress of the World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments opened today in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi. The event is timed to the second session of the United Nations Habitat Assembly held on the same days. Ilsur Metshin, President of the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA), Mayor of Kazan, spoke at the opening of the Assembly.

“Today we must make further efforts to form a New Urban Agenda as the most important building block for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals and emphasize the role of localization as a catalyst for all global development programs. As a president of UNACLA, I undertake to make every effort in this direction,”- Ilsur Metshin said in his address to the delegates of the session.

He noted that this agenda is addressed directly to cities and regions: “This agenda serves for people, for the planet, for local democracy, for governance in partnership. This is a program to achieve the transformations we need.”

Ilsur Metshin also noted that now only a few countries are in a similar political situation and have the opportunity to implement Urban Agenda. “It is necessary for everyone to move in this direction in order to preserve and promote common goods, especially air, water and soil, and to realize the right to effective access to vital resources,”- he said.

In his speech, Ilsur Metshin emphasized the main areas of work to capacity building of local and regional governments. Among them are the activation of partnerships for multi–level and intersectoral governance and the promotion of more effective planning and innovation, the release of financial resources to fill the investment gap in the interests of local economic development and a sustainable, inclusive and resilient global economy, the increased participation of local and regional governments in national coordination mechanisms for the implementation of sustainable development goals.

“We will face new challenges. In preparation for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, our voices should be heard louder than ever,”- Ilsur Metshin added.

UN Member States, specialized agencies and related UN organizations, various intergovernmental organizations, representatives of local and regional authorities will take part in the Assembly. The Executive Director of UN-Habitat Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Mayor of Soria (Spain), UCLG Envoy for the New Urban Agenda Carlos Martinez, the President of the South African Local Government Association Bheke Stofile, the President of the Habitat International Coalition Adriana Allen and mayors of cities took part in the opening ceremony.

The Assembly will discuss the implementation of the urban development program and the 2030 agenda for sustainable development.

For reference: WALRG is officially recognized by the UN General Assembly. The World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments was defined by the Quito Declaration in 2016 as a mechanism for analyzing and monitoring the implementation of a new urban development program.