UCLG-Eurasia Retreat was held on May 25-27 in Kazan. The Eurasia Retreat was the first of its kind and was organized jointly by UCLG-Eurasia and the Municipality of Kazan.
The Event started officially on May 25 at the Kazan City Hall with the Plenary Session, which was presided by Ilsur Metshin, Mayor of Kazan. The Event witnessed massive participation from Mayors, Local Government Associations, Diplomats, and members of various other organizations.
Carolina Cosse, UCLG President; Uğur İbrahim Altay, UCLG Executive President; and Emilia Saiz, UCLG Secretary General, sent their video messages and well wishes for the Event’s success.
UCLG-Eurasia Secretary General Rasikh Sagitov welcomed all the participants to the first UCLG-Eurasia Retreat. In his address, he urged all the participants to make this Event successful in laying a solid foundation for future events.
Dr. Mehmet DUMAN, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, led the MEWA delegation with the participation of Mohamed Saadie, Former UCLG-MEWA President and incumbent Deputy Ombudsman, and Junaid Rafiq, Communications Officer.
In his address to the Plenary Session, Dr. Duman congratulated the UCLG-Eurasia and Kazan Municipality for organizing the Event and expressed his wishes for the Retreat’s success. He also emphasized the historical relations between the geographies covered by UCLG-Eurasia and UCLG-MEWA. Dr. DUMAN, therefore deliberated on the need for joint actions and strategies to develop the communities. He also reiterated his stance on the cooperation among different sections of UCLG.
Additionally, Dr. Mehmet DUMAN and Mohamed Saadie were conferred the Letter of Gratitude by Ilsur Metshin for their contributions to strengthening the local government movement in Eurasia.
The Executive Board Meeting of the Asian Mayors Forum was also held on the sidelines of the Eurasia Retreat on May 25, 2023. The Executive Board discussed and voted on different issues of the Forum and its members, including activities, financial reports, memberships, new sections and positions, and future plans. Dr. Mehmet DUMAN addressed the Executive Board Meeting and highlighted the identical challenges by the Asian Cities, and urged the members for extended cooperation and the need for mutual activities to adopt global agendas in our respective regions.
The session on the SDGs and Local Governments, VLRs, VNRs, and VSRs was attended by Junaid Rafiq, who presented a PowerPoint on the implementation of good practices in achieving the SDGs in the ‘Decade of Action,’ case of ‘Waste Management in MEWA Cities.’
Finally, Interactive Session, Eurasia Cities, Priorities, and Plans, was held towards the end of the Retreat and moderated by Rasikh Sagitov, where Emilia Saiz announced the list of events to be held by UCLG in the upcoming period. Other Speakers also announced the calendar of events planned for the current year. Dr. Mehmet DUMAN also presented the activities and work plan of UCLG-MEWA that will be executed till the end of the current year.
The Event concluded with the distribution of certificates among the participants.