Tekst toespraak opening World Assembly of Local and Regional Governments (World Urban Forum 13)

Bakoe, Azerbeidzjan

Zondag 17 mei 2026

 

Excellencies, dear mayors, dear governors, dear colleagues, dear friends,

Thank you to UN-Habitat, the Global Taskforce of Local and Regional Governments and all partners for bringing us together here in Baku for this important Assembly.

It is a pleasure to be back at the World Urban Forum once again.

Over the past years, I have had the privilege to participate in several editions of the Forum

In Quito in 2016,

in Katowice in 2022,

and in Cairo in 2024.

And looking back at these moments, I believe they together tell an important story.

In Quito, we adopted the New Urban Agenda with a strong sense of optimism and shared ambition.

There was a broad recognition that cities and local governments would be central to achieving sustainable development.

In Katowice, after the pandemic years, the conversation was already becoming more urgent.

We discussed resilience, recovery and the growing pressure on cities and communities.

And in Cairo, it became even clearer that cities are increasingly on the front line of global instability.

Now here in Baku, we meet at another important moment.

Not only because we are approaching 2030 and the ten-year review of the New Urban Agenda, but also because the international context itself is changing rapidly.

What strikes me most today, compared to previous editions of the Forum, is that the distance between global discussions and daily local reality has become much smaller.

This is no different in my city, The Hague.

As the international city of peace and justice, we know that peace is not only built in courtrooms or international institutions.

Peace and trust are also built locally.

In The Hague, we recently launched a new Safe Streets Approach.
Residents can report locations where they feel unsafe, for example because of poor lighting, urban decay or neglected public space.

Together with local services, we assess these locations and take practical measures, from improving lighting and cleaning public spaces to redesigning unsafe areas.

More than 200 locations have already been reported by residents.
Because people’s sense of safety matters.
And because trust in the city is built through everyday experiences.

This moment of global transition also opens a window of opportunity.

Global challenges are compelling us to rethink multilateralism as a more inclusive, multilevel, and implementation-oriented system.

Because, this crisis is far from total.

There is one multilateral system that is not only free from crisis, but continues to grow stronger and evolve.

The system built by cities and regions.

A system that is grounded in proximity, solidarity, and inclusion.
The global municipalist movement is demonstrating that cooperation among territories is not only possible,
but also deeply transformative.

As we head into the last years to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and with 10 years of the New Urban Agenda in our sights, it is up to us to envision a future where collaboration between all layers of government and other actors is not just an aspiration. But a reality embedded in local, regional, national and international governance structures.

This year in particular, our “100 days of local multilateralism” are connecting the dots.

Bringing together all our agendas,
connecting the World Urban Forum to the High-Level Political Forum,
and leading towards the UCLG World Congress in Tangier.

It is part of one shared political trajectory:

that of a multilateralism that is more grounded, more horizontal, and more inclusive.

This is what we call local multilateralism.

For this to land, dear colleagues,

we are calling here in Baku for the recognition of local and regional governments as full spheres of government,

co-producers of global agendas,

and as those that can contribute to restore trust between our communities and institutions.

From this World Asssembly, we call for the local and regional governments to be seen as the political actors that we are, and as those that can shape the frameworks to truly transform global governance,

and to carry out our commitments.

Thank you.