During the Development Cooperation Forum held in New York on 29-30 June, Elisabeth Gateau, Secretary General of United Cities and Local Governments, in the name of its members, stated the Key Messages of Local and Regional Governments on the area of Development Cooperation.

Amongst them was that the challenges of development are ultimately local, and that they cannot be solved without the knowledge, expertise, and empowerment of legitimate and accountable actors on the ground: local and regional authorities.

It was highlighted that a strong accountable local governance is a true accelerator of development, and proposed that 25% of the aid provided should be channeled through the sub-national structures to ensure greater efficiency.

 

The members UCLG, the united voice of cities, regional authorities and their associations across the world (in 136 countries), are leading the way in a variety of development and cooperation initiatives: South-South and triangular cooperation; Capacity building; Participatory initiatives such as City Development Strategies and Urban Strategic PlanningAdvocacy activities before international donor and financial institutions.

 

To know more on this subject :

UCLG Policy Paper on Aid Effectiveness

UCLG Policy Paper on Local Finance for Development