‘We are creating a new global agenda’: Association of BRICS Cities and Municipalities established in Kazan

“We are moving towards a world in which conflict and polarisation are intensifying”

“The BRICS states are the future of the world, the future of humanity," Jose Adinan Ortolan, Vice President of the Brazilian Association of Municipalities, Mayor of Brazilian Cordeiropolis, said before the start of the international forum. “BRICS is not just an organisation, not just a group. We are creating a new global agenda, which will be based on sustainable development, because now this topic is one of the key ones in the world. We chose Kazan for a reason. This city connects religions, East and West, it is a city of millions, so it has everything we need to achieve our goals.

According to him, the main challenge today is climate change.

“We see this in different cities of the world, in different parts of the planet: such as floods, droughts, etc. These climate changes affect all countries. For example, the president of our association was supposed to be here, but, unfortunately, he could not come because of an incident in his hometown — he is now under water after severe floods. We will have to solve these challenges together, and for this, we are meeting and discussing.”

The forum participants repeatedly spoke about global changes in the world and the need for a new format of cooperation.

“Unfortunately, lately we have been moving towards a world in which conflicts and polarisation are increasing. We are facing a food crisis, natural disasters COVID-19. These things do not recognise physical boundaries and negatively affect 60% of the world's population. I believe that thanks to the experience we have gained under the auspices of unity, we will be able to build cities more resilient to these challenges," said the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavaş.

Yan Dong, Vice President of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, also called for partnership:

“Currently, age-old changes in the world are accelerating, the world is changing, times and history are unfolding in an unprecedented way. The world has entered a new period of turbulence and change. But we are also pleased to see that no matter how the international situation changes, the BRICS+ states always catch the general trend, adhere to their initial aspirations and are committed to building a more comprehensive, close, pragmatic and inclusive society, high-quality partnership.”

Mayors of cities in Argentina against the president of the country

In general, the forum gathered about 200 participants from 20 countries, including China, India, South Africa, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkey, Ethiopia, Iran, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Chile, Egypt, Morocco, Indonesia, Mexico, and Argentina. The latter stands out from the others — in August 2023, the country was admitted to the BRICS, but in December, the newly appointed president Javier Milei declined the invitation to join the association. The mayors of Argentina did not support the decision, said Mayor of Moreno Juan Javier Willipan:

“It seemed to us that this was not entirely prudent in the current geopolitical context. In view of this situation, I would like to especially thank the Latin American associations that have supported the cooperation that we currently have with BRICS, because it is historically very important... We want to confirm our decision to be a part of this association. It is a great honour for us.

Association's office will be opened in Dubai

The main topic of the forum was the constituent assembly of the Association of Cities and Municipalities of the BRICS+ states. Russia's President Vladimir Putin emphasised its importance in his greeting.

“The creation of a structure that will operate on the basis of the principles of mutual respect, equality, and creative cooperation is a significant step in further strengthening ties between the BRICS member states and their partners. In particular, it helps in solving the common tasks such as improving legislation and training, modernising housing and communal services, transport and social infrastructure, implementing humanitarian programmes, projects in the field of architectural planning and landscaping, ecology, digitalisation and tourism. And of course, the expansion of the movement of sister cities is of great importance.

The BRICS Cities Association was proposed to be created in September 2023 by the mayor of Kazan, Ilsur Metshin. The creation of the new structure was supported by more than 100 municipalities from various countries. The format of the event is not limited only to the participation of the countries belonging to this association, therefore its status was defined as BRICS+.

“This is a huge responsibility, and I am glad that such a historic event happened in Kazan, Tatarstan, and Russia," Ilsur Metshin said.

At the meeting, it was proposed to place one of the association's offices in Kazan and Dubai.

“Dubai is one of the leading hubs, and geographically it would be convenient," said the mayor of Kazan.

Ilsur Metshin was appointed chairman of the association for the period of its formation, this decision was supported unanimously.

“I hope the ship that we will create together will have a great and beautiful voyage. We will devote our work to studying the best practices for our municipalities and cities," said the mayor of Kazan.

Objections to the declaration

But the adoption of the declaration did not go according to the script — right during the voting, the delegation of India unexpectedly opposed the document.

“The declaration in the current format needs amendments, from the point of view of the Indian delegation, therefore it cannot be adopted in the current format right now," said its representative.

Ilsur Metshin asked the reason in confusion — in response, he was told about “certain proposals” from the Indian authorities that need to be added to the declaration.

“We have received a message from the government of India that you have received some recommendations," another representative of India said and asked for time to study the written text.

Metshin recalled that the text of the declaration had been sent to all members of the delegations in advance.

“We respect the government of your country and the wishes and are ready at the next meeting of the association to include those wishes in the declaration that the government of your country sends to us. Unfortunately, we have not received it for today," said the mayor of Kazan.

After that, there was a discussion about the adoption of the declaration. As a compromise, Ilsur Metshin, as well as representatives of China, Brazil and Iran, proposed to approve the document after all, and then adopt amendments at a forum that may take place in Brazil.

Another surprise was the statement by Ankara mayor, Mansur Yavaş — during the discussion, he said that the country had no doubts about the declaration, but there was one “but”.

“Our law prohibits being a part of such associations, as our head's permission is required," he suddenly declared. “If we can add one amendment on our part so that it does not interfere with our Constitution, we will be able to adopt this declaration.

As a result, the document on the establishment of the BRICS+ Association of Cities and Municipalities was adopted in its original form after discussions, but with an agreement to amend it at the next meetings.