African Cities Summit 27.04.2012

The fifth African Cities Summit was held in Marrakech, Morocco on 16-20 December 2009. The Summit was attended by about 3,000 delegates from around 100 countries (53 African ones among them). These delegates included heads of states, prime ministers, ministers, local and regional association heads, mayors, regional and local authority representatives, public and private bodies, NGO representatives, academics and experts and international development organizations.

This important international gathering also provided a unique opportunity and platform to bring together the different actors of the UCLG’s African section and to resolve certain outstanding issues at hand. The presence of the Mr. Kadir Topbaş, UCLG Co-President and Mayor of Istanbul, was of crucial importance within this context. In fact, Mr. Topbaş delivered a key speech on behalf of the UCLG World Organization at the opening of the Summit. In his speech, the Co-President emphasized that it is imperative for African Local Authorities but also for the World Organization to consolidate a united voice in African. He expressed his wish to welcoming a united Africa to the UCLG Third World Congress in Mexico City on 17-20 November 2010 and hoped that the voice of Africa will be heard loud and clear there.