I.Metshin: «It is important to join local and national forces for realisation of global tasks»

(KZN.RU, April 7). Local authorities are able to work in the most effective manner only with government assistance. It is important to join local and national forces for realisation of global tasks. Ilsur Metshin, the Mayor of Kazan, the president of the Eurasian Office of the World Organization «United Cities and Local Governments», declared about it at the meeting of Executive bureau. The event was held on April 5-6 in Montevideo (Uruguay).

During the official meetings the members of the Executive bureau of the «United Cities and Local Governments» discuss the role of local authorities in resolving crisis situations, to bring intermediate results of the report preparation on the contribution of local leaders to the realisation of  the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as to take further steps to organize the World Congress of the «United Cities and Local Governments» in Durban this November. More than 300 representatives of large world cities took part in the meeting in Uruguay, among which were Guangzhou, Paris, Berlin, Barcelona, and others.

During the work meeting participants heard several presentations, including one by the president of the Eurasian Office of the World Organization «United Cities and Local Governments». Ilsur Metshin noted that the meeting would be an additional step towards  the sustainable urban development. The president of the Eurasian Office reminded that during the 15 years of its existence, the World Organization had expanded geographical scope. As well he informed that  Eurasian cities had developed strategies to urban development till 2030 taking into account the objectives of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Kazan, Tomsk, Moscow, Rostov-on-Don, Astana, Bishkek, Dushanbe are the first cities which developed strategies in 2016. «Much work has been done. Only in Kazan about thousand people contributed to the work of the Strategy. Many ideas have found the place in the tasks of the Strategy», - said I.Metshin. The developed strategies were not  blank sheets of paper, as the Mayor of Kazan emphasised. All over Eurasia many projects are underway supporting the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). «For involving the population to the realisation of  the Sustainable Development Goals 1 to combat poverty we organised a charitable store «The right hands» in Kazan, where people could bring unnecessary good things, and the indigent could take them», - informed Ilsur Metshin. He cited various other examples of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals which were realised in the other cities of Eurasia, - the blood drive event was held in the Kirghizian city Osh, this year 51 medical ambulance station would be open in Astana, the public transport of Yakutsk would be converted vehicles to gaseous motor fuels, and others.

The Eurasian Office of the World Organization «United Cities and Local Governments» attaches great importance to the SDG 3 «Good health». «We consider cities should support citizens' health as one of the mainest aspects of human well-being. Our Eurasian Office has made the first steps in this direction through the Arrangement on Cooperation with the Association «Healthy Cities», and today we develop projects which we could realise together. I call on the administration of the World Organization «United Cities and Local Governments» to pay attention to health issues as well, and to start the «Healthy Cities» project execution», - said I.Metshin.

«It is just several examples of successfully realised urban projects, on the realisation of the SDG till 2030», - said the president of the Eurasian Office. He added that the information about  the Sustainable Development Goals was being sent to lots of local authorities. So, in October 2018 the Eurasian Office of the «United Cities and Local Governments» together with Cheboksary city organised the Congress of local authorities of Eurasia «On the way to realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals» in which the representatives from 10 countries and more than 70 cities took part.

«Now we have the training plan of mayors and representatives of local authorities within the meetings of the associations of local authorities of Eurasian region. We want to hold training programmes in localisation of the SDG on each meeting of local authorities of our region», - told I.Metshin.

«Municipalities realise lots of useful projects, and most of the SDG depends directly on the actions on local level. However local authorities cannot act maximally effectively without the state support. It  is important to join local and national forces for realisation of global tasks», - emphasised the Mayor of Kazan.

«We managed to reach certain results. We came to an agreement with the Government of the Russian Federation about participation of the Eurasian Office in the preparation of voluntary national reviews of achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals for Political forum on the U.N. Sustainable Development in 2020. As the president of the Eurasian Office, I will participate as a member of government commission on the report preparation, as well as in work of theme groups. I am sure it may provide an impetus for the further joint actions on the way to the sustainable development», - continued Ilsur Metshin. «We should make efforts that the governments of our countries hear us, and we could start together and synchronously the realisation of the Sustainable Development Goals», - summarized the president of the Eurasian Office.

As Evgenia Lodvigova, the first deputy head of the World Organization, informed KZN. RU that the representatives of other countries supported the Mayor of Kazan, and she noted that the step would give a new powerful impetus to achieve the goals. Also she said as well that such meetings for Kazan were exchange of experience with the world's leading cities.

In the end Ilsur Metshin thanked the World Organization. «The Sustainable Development Goals has done much to make the voice of local authorities be heard. Local authorities should keep moving and act to achieve sustainable future. It is time for cities, the time has come to act!» - noted I.Metshin.

As well it was revealed on the meeting that Kazan became the member of the World Metropolis association. Today the association's membership comprises 139 largest world's cities, where Kazan is the one Russian city. The association allows to study problems in greater detail, inherent in big cities, in particular, environmental, transport, urban planning, and other issues.