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THE Russia- Africa summit on sustainable urban future was held last week in a hybrid format in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Organised by the UN Association of Russia and the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, delegates shared mutual experience and discussions of urban and regional sustainable development.
The full results of the Forum will be presented at the II Russia – Africa Summit (in St. Petersburg), at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF, in New York) and at the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit 2023 (in New York).
The Event’s programme covered modern technologies and green financing in the context of urbanisation, as well as the Covid-19 pandemic impact and climate change.
According to the Russian Ambassador to Ethiopia, Evgeny Terekhin, the meeting is an important step for expanding the cooperation and exchange of experience in the field of sustainable urban planning, which is explained by the continuous growth of the world’s population and the influx of people from rural areas to cities.
Tatyana Naumova, Head of Official Events and Protocol Division of the Department for External Economic and International Relations of Moscow observed that Cooperation between Moscow and African countries is reaching the next level with a thrust for development.
“In particular, as the world is directing towards sustainable development, Moscow is open and ready for joint action in this area with our African friends and colleagues,” she said
Event moderator Mr. Alexey Borisov, Secretary General of the UNA-Russia, Vice-President of the WFUNA, Head of UNESCO Chair at MGIMO-University MFA Russia said the meeting was important to promote SDGs and raise the social development of Russian regions and African countries.
Delegates to the Forum who included representatives of UN agencies, the Pan-African Youth Union, other youth communities, Russian and African businesses shared presentations and discussions on the first day anchored on the development of urban communities and cooperation between regions and cities in Russia and Africa.
Experts shared the best urban development practices that were related to the UN SDGs.
The success stories of Russia ranged from special economic zones in Moscow (Technopolis Moscow) to the digitization of over 400 public services that are being utilized by over 15 million people living in the capital.
Vladimir Lenev, Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Nairobi, Kenya, said Russia traditionally supports the key role of the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) within the UN system, whose mandate is aimed at strengthening the national potential of the UN Member States and international cooperation in urban development.
The Forum was held on the eve of the II Russia-Africa Summit and Economic and Humanitarian Forum, scheduled for July 27 — 28 in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Summit is the highest-profile and largest-scale event in Russian–African relations, aimed at bringing about a fundamentally new level of mutually beneficial partnership to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The sustainable development topic will take a special place in the discussions of the sections “The New Global Economy and Cooperation in Science and Technology.”
The Forum ended with a discussion of trade, economic and humanitarian cooperation and the prospects for strengthening partnership between Russia and Africa in the environmental, social, scientific, technical and cultural fields.
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