Mayors Summit on Living Together in Düsseldorf
Minister of the Moscow Government and Head of the Moscow Department of Foreign Economic and International Relations Sergey Cheremin took part in the second Mayors Summit on Living Together in Dusseldorf. The first summit, held in 2015, took place in Montreal, Canada.
This year, the main topics of the conference, which brought together 57 representatives from 28 countries, were communication between city residents and the authorities, healthcare initiatives, the stable development of a city that’s convenient to live in, and the implementation of smart technologies in city management.
During his speech, Sergey Cheremin pointed out that the Russian capital is one of the most advanced cities in the world – a fact that has been confirmed by a number of international ratings. For example, Moscow is in first place on the UN’s e-government development index. The Financial Times included Moscow in the top-5 European cities for investors, and the international creator of navigation technology TomTom ranked Moscow first on its Traffic Index for the city’s parking system.
The Minister also said that major city projects have received international recognition as well. The Luzhniki sports arena and Zaryadye Park received awards at an international architecture festival, and Zaryadye Park received a special prize at the MIPIM Awards. Island of Dreams, the world’s largest indoor amusement park, is getting ready to open its doors as well.
The reconstruction and renovation of the city’s buildings, public spaces, and industrial areas are underway, along with the “My Street” improvement project. According to Sergey Cheremin, the goal of these initiatives is to make the lives of Moscow residents more comfortable and convenient.
The Russian capital uses IT solutions in the spheres of transportation, healthcare, and education. Moscow is the world’s leading city in terms of the number of government services residents can access online. “We currently have 26o e-services, and we’re not stopping here,” the minister said.
Conference participants included representatives from New York, Dhaka, Vienna, Calcutta, Arnhem, Hamburg, Warsaw, Izmir, Montreal, and other cities. Summing up the conference, the Mayor of Dusseldorf Thomas Geisel noted that it does not matter where the city is located – in Europe, Asia, Africa or America, the important thing is that we can learn from each other.
Additionally, as part of a trip to Düsseldorf, Head of Moscow’s Foreign Economic and International Relations Sergey Cheremin held talks with Thomas Geisel. The parties discussed current issues of cooperation between the Russian capital and the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia, as well as the implementation of ongoing projects, including the preparations for Dusseldorf Days, which will take place in Moscow on October 10-12.
