BRICS International Municipal Forum Wraps up in Moscow

The BRICS International Municipal Forum was held on 27–29 August 2024 at the Expocentre Central Exhibition Complex in Moscow. The event addressed such issues as municipal cooperation, digitalization, sustainable development, and the introduction of innovations in urban management. The Forum was organized with the support of the Russian Presidential Executive Office, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Roscongress Foundation, the Federation Council of Russia, the Russian State Duma, the Moscow City Duma, the St. Petersburg Government, the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and the Moscow Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The Moscow Government served as the general partner of the Forum.

The Forum was attended by 1,133 official foreign representatives, including 163 official delegates and 88 representatives of international non-profit organizations. Participants from Russia included 18 representatives of federal agencies, 716 representatives of Russian regions, and 229 mayors of Russian cities and heads of municipalities, as well as roughly 300 foreign mayors. The total number of business participants exceeded 2,300 people.

The BRICS International Municipal Forum was covered by over 500 media representatives and more than 300 media outlets.

“The Forum has become a key platform for developing new strategies for urban development, strengthening international cooperation, implementing agreements and projects that aim to improve the life of cities, and strengthening international economic relations. Countries held a dialogue at the municipal level on economic issues that aim to improve the quality of life of our citizens. The event was attended by over 6,000 participants and more than 500 heads of Russian and foreign cities,” said Adviser to the President of Russian Federation and Executive Secretary of the Organizing Committee of Russia’s BRICS Chairship Anton Kobyakov.

Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov welcomed the Forum participants. He emphasized the importance of strengthening international cooperation at the municipal level, particularly in the context of the current global challenges. “The Forum has become a key platform for dialogue and exchange of experience between BRICS megacities that contributes to the sustainable development of cities and agglomerations,” Lavrov said.

At the official opening ceremony of the Forum, welcome addresses were also made by the Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Konstantin Kosachev, Russian Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Russia’s BRICS Sherpa Sergey Ryabkov, and Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexey Shaposhnikov.

The programme featured more than 70 events, including panel discussions, roundtables, and specialized sessions. The agenda focused on the development of international cooperation between cities, economic ties, and parliamentary diplomacy at the municipal level, as well as key aspects of municipal governance, including the comprehensive development of territories, the social sector, sustainable development, digitalization, healthcare, improvements to urban infrastructure, transport, education, science, culture, and tourism.

As part of the BRICS International Municipal Forum, an international parliamentary forum was held at the initiative of Moscow City Duma Chairman Alexey Shaposhnikov.

Thematic sessions were held on ways to step up parliamentary diplomacy at the level of BRICS capital cities and agglomerations, as well as youth parliamentarism.

The key speakers included Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Inna Svyatenko, Federation Council Deputy Chairperson Konstantin Kosachev, the heads of legislative bodies of Tehran, Caracas, Algiers, Jakarta, the Chinese province of Guangdong, as well as foreign MPs and public figures.

“We discussed the growing influence of megacities on the international stage and the prospects for the BRICS metropolitan interparliamentary horizontal framework, which the Moscow City Duma began to form last year. The goal is to bolster international ties and help promote the common interests of the Global majority,” said Shaposhnikov, one of the co-organizers of the BRICS International Municipal Forum.

One of the Forum’s biggest events was the international session ‘Creating Innovative Platforms for a Permanent Dialogue between BRICS Partner Cities and Regions’.

One of the highlights of the Forum was the signing of more than 300 agreements to develop municipal cooperation and expand economic ties with other nations, including countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. The agreements cover a wide range of areas, including infrastructure projects, the development of digital platforms, and environmental initiatives.

Agreements on the development of partnerships between Moscow and the largest BRICS megacities were among the most important documents signed at the Forum. For example, Moscow signed an agreement with Beijing to create joint projects in digitalization and ecology. Deputy Secretary General of People's Government of Beijing Municipality Han Geng said: “We believe that strengthening practical cooperation between cities is a powerful driving force for the BRICS mechanism.”

“Moscow maintains relations with more than 150 of the world’s largest megacities and macro-regions. We pay special attention to relations with BRICS countries, including our key partner, China, and are intensifying relations with India and new countries that have joined the association: Egypt, the UAE, and Ethiopia. The Russian capital has signed cooperation programmes with new partners: the city of Tehran and the mayor’s office of Sao Paulo”

One of the highlights of the Forum was a large-scale exposition featuring the stands of the Moscow Government, the SberCity project, GAZ Group, and Synergy University, whose partners included Gazprombank, the Skolkovo Foundation, and many others. The latest solutions for smart cities, digital technologies, ecology, and public-private partnerships were presented at the event.

The exhibition included such thematic sections as ‘Urban Environment’, ‘Artificial Intelligence’, ‘Investments and PPP’, as well as ‘ESG and Sustainable Development’. The Forum participants learned about advanced technologies and discussed their practical application in a modern city.

The Forum served as a key platform to come up with new strategies to develop cities, bolster international cooperation, implement agreements and projects that aim to improve the life of cities, and strengthen foreign economic relations.

The Roscongress Foundation manages the events of Russia’s BRICS chairship.