VIENNA, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) on Wednesday kicked off its flagship Bridge for Cities event, an annual forum aimed to promote sustainable urban development.
UNIDO Director General Gerd Mueller said in his opening address that this year's event will offer a platform for global urban officials and other stakeholders to share experiences and success stories on transitioning to low-carbon solutions, enhancing transportation systems, addressing social inequality, improving governance in urban areas and using artificial intelligence to tackle urban challenges.
Mueller said the Bridge for Cities event, first launched in 2016, has become "more important than ever." He also praised the northwestern Chinese city of Xi'an, which he visited earlier this year, as an "international pioneer" in sustainable urban development.
The UNIDO chief added that through its expertise in industrial development, technology transfer and capacity building, the organization stands ready to help global cities, especially those in developing countries.
Li Song, China's permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations in Vienna, said at the three-day event that China is ready to share its experience and good practices for urban development with all parties, especially those in the Global South, through the platform of the Bridge for Cities, and jointly explore innovative solutions to promote robust, green and healthy global development.
Li added that the Bridge for Cities is highly compatible with a series of major initiatives put forward by China in the field of global development, including the Belt and Road Initiative and the Global Development Initiative.
The Chinese city of Xi'an is holding an exhibition on its urban development at the UN headquarters in Vienna on the sidelines of the Bridge for Cities forum. Xi'an officials will share their urban governance experience at the event on Thursday.
The Bridge for Cities event aims to promote the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development via the Belt and Road Initiative and to encourage officials and stakeholders to further engage in sustainable urban and industrial development initiatives, according to UNIDO. ■
