KATHMANDU, Nov 7: Mayors of over a dozen metropolitan cities of the Asia Pacific region have vowed to work together in the field of sustainable urban development. They made a pledge to work together to establish more sustainable and resilient cities during the International Seminar on Heritage and Sustainable Tourism that kicked off in Lalitpur on Wednesday.

The seminar organized alongside the 38th executive committee meeting of CityNet is being attended by 88 foreign delegates including 14 mayors. 

Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun inaugurated the seminar amid a special function held at Patan Durbar Square. He said that CityNet—an organization of municipalities in Asia Pacific region together with other stakeholders working in the field of sustainable urban development—can play a greater role in making the cities of Nepal more standard and smart.

With the collaboration of 135 municipalities, NGOs, private companies and research centers and working with the support of international bodies like UNESCAP, UNDO and UN Habitat, CityNet is recognized as the largest network of cities that collaboratively work hand in hand in the sector of sustainable and resilient development of cities.

Since the last three decades, the organization has successfully worked for promotion of exchange in knowledge and practices, combating global climate change and disaster resilience, advancing urban issues on the global sustainability agenda and has been shaping the largest network of urban stakeholders across the Asia Pacific region.

Lalitpur Metropolitan City was elected as CityNet executive committee member last year in a convention held in Sri Lanka. 

“Our membership as executive committee member of this organization has been helping Nepalese cites to connect with other cities and stakeholders in order to discuss about the urban issues that we are facing,” said Lalitpur's Mayor Chiri Babu Maharjan. 

 
• Asia_Pacific_region
 
• sustainable_urban_development
 
• metropolitan_cities