Russia chairs the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities for the first time

The mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin will represent the interests of 323 thousand municipalities of the world.

Ilsur Metshin, mayor of Kazan, was elected as Chairperson of the United Nations Advisory Committee of Local Authorities (UNACLA). This decision was made at the VI UCLG World Congress, which was held on November 11-15 in Durban, South Africa.

For the first time such a high position is held by a representative of the Russian Federation. Among the candidates were the mayor of Lisbon Fernando Medina, mayor of Barcelona Ada Colau and Mohamed Boudra, Chairman of the Moroccan Association of Presidents of Municipal Councils.

“In a global world, cities face similar challenges, no matter where they are located. We need to improve cooperation between municipalities, increase their role in solving global challenges, share best practices in order to make life more comfortable for our citizens,” Ilsur Metshin said.

A Chairperson of the UN Advisory Committee of local authorities is elected for 3 years. The Committee consists of 20 representatives of the UN-Habitat (the UN Human Settlements Programme) and UCLG.

The UN Advisory Committee of local authorities represents the interests of 323 thousand municipalities, metropolises and regions around the world.