On June 25, on the sidelines of the World Congress of the World Organization «United Cities and Local Governments» (UCLG) in Tangier, Morocco, a working meeting of the BRICS+ Association of Cities and Municipalities took place. The event emerged as one of the Congress’s key discussion platforms, bringing together city leaders, heads of national municipal associations, and international experts from the BRICS and partner countries, as well as regions across Latin America, Asia, and Africa.
The session was moderated by José Antônio Alves Donato, Mayor of Santa Bárbara do Tugúrio. In his opening remarks, he highlighted the Association’s growing role as an effective mechanism for forging joint approaches to sustainable urban development amid global turbulence.
Honorary Chairman of the Association, Mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin, delivered a welcoming address to the participants. In his speech, he underscored that the Association had rapidly evolved into a productive space for direct dialogue among municipal leaders, where collective solutions are sought to common challenges — ranging from digitalisation and transport accessibility to social inclusion and environmental sustainability.
«Our meeting is taking place today on the sidelines of the UCLG World Congress, and this is an encouraging sign, reflecting multipolarity and a readiness for dialogue», stated Ilsur Metshin. He also recalled a key achievement of the previous year — the signing of a cooperation agreement between the BRICS+ Association and UCLG. This step marked an important milestone in integrating the BRICS municipal platform into global networks of local authorities, thereby strengthening the position of cities as full-fledged actors in international affairs.
Particular attention was devoted to the youth agenda. Ilsur Metshin spoke about the successful experience of hosting the first BRICS Youth Festival in Kazan, which brought together 150 talented participants from 35 municipalities. Responding to numerous requests from colleagues to continue the project, he shared some welcome news: «I am pleased to announce that Belarus as BRICS partner country has supported the idea of hosting the festival, and it will take place next spring in Minsk. So we can already pass on the good news to the children: the festival lives on, and soon everyone will receive an invitation to join this project.»
On behalf of the Association’s Chairman, Mayor of Maricá Washington Quaquá, Executive Director of the Brazilian Association of Municipalities Eduardo Tadeu delivered a substantive report on the Association’s activities during the Brazilian presidency. In his presentation, he detailed the main areas of work, implemented projects, and outlined promising spheres for deepening cooperation among the municipalities of member countries, including the exchange of best practices in climate adaptation, waste management, and urban economic development.
Uğur İbrahim Altay, Executive President of UCLG and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality, Türkiye, also addressed the meeting. He commended the Association’s dynamic development and proposed specific formats for further collaboration between UCLG and the BRICS municipal platform, emphasising the importance of joint initiatives in professional training for local self-government and the introduction of innovative solutions in urban management.
Bheke Stofile, President of the South African Local Government Association, shared insights into tackling social challenges, while Adelson Guaraci Jantsch, a consultant on health system strengthening from Brazil, spoke on primary healthcare experiences.
One of the speakers was Mohammadali Shafi, Deputy Mayor of Tehran for International Affairs, who described the dire situation in Iranian cities amid ongoing military hostilities.
Latin America was broadly represented at the meeting. Speeches were delivered by Fernando Gray, Vice-President of the Mercociudades and Mayor of Esteban Echeverría, Argentina, and Francisco Legnani, Vice-President of Mercociudades and Mayor of Canelones, Uruguay. They shared the experiences of South American cities in addressing social inequality, developing public transport, and improving quality of life in urban agglomerations, while also expressing interest in expanding partnership ties with the Association.
Active contributions to the meeting also came from representatives of the Chinese People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Bernadia Irawati Tjandradewi, Secretary-General of the UCLG Asia-Pacific Section, and Neila Akrimi, Chair of the Global Working Group on Capacity and Institution Building of the World Organization “United Cities and Local Governments”. In their remarks, they acknowledged the Association’s significant potential as a bridge between different regions of the world and reaffirmed their readiness to provide expert support for its projects.
