Local government leaders discuss the world in Daejeon

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Local government leaders discuss the world in Daejeon

Published: 12 Oct. 2022, 14:48 Updated: 12 Oct. 2022, 19:09

President Yoon Suk-yeol, center in bottom row, gathers on stage with guests and leaders of regional and local governments around the world in the 7th United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress in Daejeon on Wednesday. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

DAEJEON – President Yoon Suk-yeol called on leaders of local and regional governments around the world to come together to fight global challenges like the pandemic and climate change.

Yoon was addressing the 7th United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) World Congress, hosted by the Daejeon Metropolitan Government and the UCLG Secretariat.

UCLG is the largest organization of local and regional governments in the world and the only local government organization recognized by the United Nations.

Some 1,700 people – mostly local and regional government officials as well as representatives of nongovernmental and international organizations – flew into Korea for the week-long event.

“As we went through the Covid-19 crisis,” Yoon said in his address, “we were able to realize once again how much of an important role local governments play.”

Drawing from his own administration’s experience, Yoon said he was determined to back local governments because “local competitiveness equals national competitiveness.”

Yoon said one of his main ambitions was guaranteeing equal opportunities to everyone regardless of where they live – whether in a big city or in the countryside.

Former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon underscored the importance of partnerships to advance international municipal movements.

“Local is global and global is local,” said Ban. “We need both local and global solutions to address challenges that we are facing” in terms of climate change, rising sea levels, wildfires, regional conflicts and Covid-19.

“We have to put all our hands on the deck together; that’s global solidarity,” he continued.

Ban took a jab at Russia for invading Ukraine and encouraged the crowd to applaud for Ukrainians, stressing that Russia’s illegal aggression represented one of the most dangerous moments in global security in decades.

“The war in Ukraine has compounded preexisting stresses from Covid,” said Ban.

“Russia is putting dire pressure on populations.”

On climate change, the former UN chief urged the international community not to backpedal on fossil fuels, saying it was time to transition to green energy and harness science and innovation to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Municipal cooperation holds the key to mapping out a transformative future to achieve the goals, Ban said, “for our children, and their children, and many more generations to come.”

Emilia Saiz, secretary general of the UCLG, urged the UCLG community to take multilateralism to the next level, saying that local and regional governments should sign a pact for the future, a new and bold social contract that’s also inclusive of women.

Jan van Zanen, governing president of the UCLG and mayor of The Hague, also pointed to the importance of joint efforts in overcoming current challenges, saying that regional and local governments should pave the way to “break through as one,” especially at a time when people worldwide are feeling vulnerable.

As head of Korea’s hub for science and research, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo said his city will strive to search for ways to help the world with scientific achievements.

Held every three years, the UCLG World Congress brings together leaders of local and regional governments to discuss worldwide issues and the roles that local and regional governments should play.

Under the main theme “Local and Regional Governments Breaking Through as One,” participants in this year’s event will discuss the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN and ways to solve the various problems that arose since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic across nearly 120 sessions, with a special emphasis on sustainability.

North Korean officials were invited to the meeting but didn’t come.

The meeting kicked off Monday and lasts through Friday at the Daejeon Convention Center.

A so-called Daejeon Declaration pressing local governments to help build a sustainable production and consumption system is expected to be adopted on the last day of the congress.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]