Ilsur Metshin was re-elected as President of the Eurasian Section of UCLG
The vote took place during the 8th Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Eurasia.
Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin has once again been elected President of the Eurasian Section of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG). This decision was made during the general assembly meeting of the section as part of the 8th Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Eurasia held in Yakutsk. The event took place in a videoconference format, with the Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin and Deputy Head of the Kazan Municipality Evgenia Lodvigova joining from Kazan.

Chairman of the Moscow City Council Alexey Shaposhnikov emphasized that during his tenure as President of the Eurasian Section of UCLG, Ilsur Metshin has demonstrated high performance. “Over the past three years, Ilsur Raisovich has earned top-level international recognition. I believe his candidacy fully deserves re-election,” he noted.

By unanimous decision of the assembly members, Ilsur Metshin was re-elected as President of the Eurasian Section of UCLG. The head of the capital of Tatarstan thanked his colleagues for their trust and noted that it is a great honor and at the same time a responsibility for him. “Together we will continue our efforts to develop and strengthen the Eurasian section,” he addressed the participants.

Vice-presidents of the section were appointed as follows: Head of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) Aysen Nikolaev and Head of the Samara Urban District Elena Lapushkina.

Participants of the meeting summarized the work done in recent years. The Secretary General of the Eurasian Section of UCLG Rasikh Sagitov presented a report. He stated that 2019 was a productive year for the organization. Most notably, the President of the Eurasian Section, Ilsur Metshin, was also elected President of the UN Advisory Committee of Local Authorities. “This significant achievement is the result of our entire Eurasian family, of everyone who supported this important mission. The election of a Eurasian mayor to such a high position at the UN allows us to represent the interests of our cities in this organization,” he noted.
Another important milestone was the participation of the Eurasian Section of UCLG in the preparation of Russia’s Voluntary National Review. The review was presented to the UN in July 2020 and included projects initiated by local authorities.

In addition, at the beginning of February 2020, a delegation of the Eurasian Section took part in the World Urban Forum in Abu Dhabi. Furthermore, the results of a study were presented, and a ranking of international activity among cities was compiled. The top 10 included Bishkek, Izmir, Khabarovsk, Kazan, Bursa, Rostov-on-Don, Perm, Gaziantep, Ufa, and Ankara.

Rasikh Sagitov also shared that during the pandemic, the United Cities and Local Governments, in cooperation with UN-Habitat (the UN Human Settlements Programme), promptly organized a series of online sessions to discuss challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 17 thematic webinars were held, with active participation from Eurasian cities.

“The first half of 2021 was also productive. This year, in collaboration with UCLG and GCom, we launched initiatives to combat climate change,” Rasikh Sagitov noted. At the first stage of the project, priority issues were identified for the Eurasian region, including increased ecological footprint, rising sea levels and average annual temperatures, prevention of the greenhouse effect, and the need to establish dedicated bodies to address these challenges. The next step, he said, will be the development of a roadmap for action by local and regional authorities to counter climate change.

The next meeting of the Council of the Eurasian Section within the framework of the UCLG World Congress will take place in November 2022 in Daejeon, South Korea.

“Colleagues, thank you for another year of fruitful cooperation! I wish us all good health, success in overcoming challenges, and continued momentum in the development of our cities. I sincerely hope to see you in person next year,” concluded Ilsur Metshin.