The BRICS Association of Cities and Municipalities Is One Step Closer

From March 11 to 17, a delegation from Kazan, including Rasikh Sagitov, Secretary General of UCLG-Eurasia, and Arseny Karyakin, Acting Head of the Department of International and Intermunicipal Relations of the Kazan City Duma, made working trips to Cairo (Egypt) and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) to interact with UCLG-Africa to develop cooperation within the framework of BRICS cities.

The delegation met in Cairo with the support of the Russian Embassy in Egypt. It was attended by Mohamed Higazy, Director of the North Africa Regional Office of UCLG-Africa, and Hazem Zaki, Deputy Minister for Regional Economic Organizations’ Affairs of the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who is also in charge of the BRICS area. Following the negotiations, the parties agreed that Egyptian cities would participate in the Founding Meeting of the BRICS Association of Cities and Municipalities on June 21, 2024, in Kazan.

A similar agreement was reached following a meeting in Addis Ababa. Ethiopian cities are also to come to Kazan to establish the Association. It should be noted that Abay Yigzaw Jantirar, Deputy Mayor of Addis Ababa, and Habtiye Bekele Zegeye, Deputy Director General of the Ethiopian Cities Association took part in the negotiations with the Russian delegation headed by Evgeny Terekhin, Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia.

Note that, the initiative to establish the BRICS Association of Cities and Municipalities is a promising project of the Kazan Municipality with the support of UCLG-Eurasia. The purpose of the Association will be broad-based cooperation of local governments of the BRICS countries, development of ties and protection of the values and interests of the BRICS municipal movement.

18.03.2024

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