The BRICS Urban Future Forum held in Moscow last week brought global stakeholders together to discuss creative ideas and practical solutions for sustainable urban development.
The forum, held from Sept. 18 to 19, attracted more than 13,000 participants from over 30 countries. The forum involved a range of prominent speakers, including mayors from major cities in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, to discuss and share best practices to make the urban development more sustainable.
With projections indicating many cities in the BRICS countries will evolve into mega ones, the forum emphasized the importance of exchanging ideas for innovative solutions.
"I was invited to join the conference as a representative from China, from Shenzhen. I'm the chairman of the Hiland International Talent Group. My topic is how entrepreneurship innovation can thrive in big cities. We have quite a few very interesting discussions among all the different panelists. My contribution to the team is, we felt particularly, when this world being divided more and more, we need to work together to bridge the world, and specifically talent will play a very critical role," said Zhai Bin, chairman of Hiland International Talent Group.
The forum reinforced a collective commitment among BRICS countries to address urban challenges, fostering a vision for a more sustainable future amid ongoing global uncertainties.
"So we can use these kind of funds to start some of the projects because they are bringing some of the others, some technological partners from other countries. It is not always possible to find right partner from another country, and another city. These European Union's funds bring cities together for creative solutions [for] their common problems," said Erol Ozguner, Chief Information Officer of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.
"We had the energy summit where all the BRICS nations are represented, and where we had a great discussion of how sustainable development is very important. And China leading in one of the largest lithium battery manufacturing and electric vehicles is something. The minister council who represents India really said it aptly that we are ready to share that technology and we're ready to expand and grow to make sure the world is greener," said Sameep Shastri, Vice Chairman of India's BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
BRICS forum in Moscow highlights sustainable urban development
