On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, the Acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Receives U20 Mayoral Summit Final Communique

Riyadh, Oct 2, 2020, SPA -- On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs, Majid bin Abdullah Al-Hogail was handed over the final communique of the Urban 20 (U20) Mayors Summit, from the CEO of the Royal Commission for Riyadh City and U20 Saudi chair, Fahd Abdulmohsan Alrasheed. This came at the conclusion of virtual U20 Mayors Summit. The speech of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud was delivered by the Acting Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs Majid Al-Hogail: In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful, Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you, First, I would like to extend my gratitude to the Urban 20 Engagement Group this year represented by the Chair Fahd bin Abdulmohsen Alrasheed, Sherpa, participating members, and knowledge partners globally for working together under the G20 umbrella, which our capital city of Riyadh had the honor of chairing and hosting it, in the aim of highlighting the views of urban communities, especially as cities of the world are at the forefront of the COVID-19 outbreak challenges. Urban citizens represent today more than 50% of the world’s population. Recent statistics indicate that city populations are expected to grow to two-thirds of the world population by 2050. Accordingly, it is more important than ever to have cities’ representatives participate in international multilateral platforms; given that such platforms discuss a wide range of citizens needs on a daily basis, and have extensive knowledge of key challenges and opportunities related to multiple pressing global issues including infrastructure, smart cities, civil societies, energy, innovation, and many other areas related to urban society. We have reviewed the Urban 20 communique that was issued prior to the G20 Extraordinary Leaders’ Summit last March, which called on the G20 Leaders to take urgent measures to support cities in containing COVID-19. According to the commitments we have made as G20 Leaders in the Summit, we reaffirm that our primary and immediate priority is combating COVID-19 and its health, social, and economic impacts. Our efforts within the G20 remain focused on providing the suitable conditions for developing a vaccine for COVID-19, while ensuring fair and equitable access to it for everyone, taking into account the needs of the developing countries. Additionally, we are utilizing the lessons learned from this pandemic to ensure that future generations are prepared in face of future health and economic challenges. Protecting lives and safeguarding jobs and livelihoods are top priorities for us as G20 leaders. In this regard, the Saudi G20 Presidency has focused its efforts on tackling these challenges; bearing in mind the importance of Empowering People which is the first aim of the Saudi G20 Presidency agenda. At the same time, a core focus for us is developing policies to foster equal opportunities for all, especially vulnerable groups. In general, The Saudi G20 Presidency agenda has addressed several issues related to developing urban communities, such as: developing smart cities, infrastructure investments and regional integration, tourism as a driver for economic growth, trade and investment cooperation, and promoting environmental sustainability. These areas are of high importance to us in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as they are aligned with Vision 2030 and its urban development projects and programs, which include NEOM, the city of the future, through which we aim to improve the concept of modern cities, as well as the Red Sea Development project which aims to add a new undiscovered & unique destination to the global tourism map. Moving Forward, the G20 will focus on two key issues: the first is protecting lives and restoring growth by tackling and overcoming the pandemic, and the second is recovering stronger by addressing the vulnerabilities exposed during the pandemic and promoting long-term resilience. In the upcoming Leaders’ Summit, we will strive to achieve consensus-based solutions and initiatives for this year’s priorities, as well as advance the G20 role to create a unified international response to tackle the economic, social, and health impacts of COVID-19. Finally, we hoped to conduct a physical U20 summit in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia this year, but we look forward to your visit and meeting you face to face after the pandemic recedes. We wish you a successful summit and we look forward to your recommendations and final communique. Peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah be upon you. The Final Communique of the virtual Urban 20 (U20) Mayors Summit had received record support from 39 cities and included 27 recommendations to be submitted to the G20 leaders at their meeting, which will be held virtually on the 21st and 22nd of next November 2020 under the chairmanship of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud. The U20 Mayors Summit's Final Communique called on heads of state and government of the G20 members to cooperate with the governments, civil society, private sector, research and thought centers, and academia at all levels. It also called on them to concerted efforts under the umbrella of four main axes: developing partnerships through investment in a fair and environmentally friendly recovery from Covid-19, protecting our planet through national and international cooperation, shaping new horizons for development by accelerating the transition to a circular carbon economy and enabling people to ensure a more equal and inclusive future. Moreover, the Communique called on national governments to give utmost importance to investing directly in cities as engines of recovery by adopting global policies that respond to the crisis and ensure investment in the physical and social infrastructure by designing environmentally friendly incentive financing packages, supporting companies, and allocating other financial resources for recovery in support of building development Carbon-neutral societies that include the largest possible segments of the population, and are resilient in the face of climate change, revitalizing local and global economies, helping cities to enhance their creditworthiness, investing in the cities' social infrastructure, especially health care, education and public transport systems, in addition to the commitment to cooperate to ensure that everyone has access to (Covid-19) vaccines, considering them as a global public good and provide fair access without discrimination. The Communique also called on G20 leaders to cooperate with U20 in order to commit to an immediate response to the climate emergency by limiting greenhouse gas emissions with the goal of collectively reducing them globally by %50 required by 2030, and achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 as a maximum in addition to investing in nature-based green solutions with international financial institutions and the private sector to provide environmentally friendly infrastructure on land and marine and to establish minimum standards and guidelines to ensure access to nature and green spaces in cities as well as improve physical and mental safety, in conjunction with assessing the potential and risks of biotechnology. It pointed out that Covid-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to achieve a decisive shift towards the circular carbon economy worldwide, which heralds a new era of resource efficiency, as it called on the G20 to cooperate with the Urban 20 to promote the regulation of the circular carbon economy, aiming to accelerate the implementation of the following four points, namely: * Reducing use, reuse, recycling and recovery by developing appropriate legal frameworks, harmonizing standards, developing risk-sharing tools and incentives and financial aid. * Enhancing the capacity of local governments to finance and approve circular carbon economy initiatives in the construction sector. * Organizing and reorienting national budgets and investing in them to move towards high-quality carbon-neutral mobility systems to support sustainable, emission-free mass transit. * Accelerating the shift towards a clean and efficient energy mix through substantial increases in investment in renewable energy sources to support healthy and carbon-neutral cities. The Communique also stressed the need for the global recovery from (Covid-19) to include equally all citizens, residents and migrants in urban areas and communities at particular risk, and to guarantee their security and safety, as well as the implementation of the sustainable development goals and the creation of more integrated societies, by formulating principles for the G20, which can address the important and continuing global challenges in providing low-cost housing and ensuring food security for all by strengthening urban-rural links and investing in the physical and social infrastructure that establish flexible and sustainable food and consumption systems, in addition to investing in job opportunities for young people in general and girls in particular, with focusing on developing personal and digital skills, expanding entrepreneurship programs, stimulating micro, small and medium enterprises, and giving priority for protecting women and girls who suffer inequality and violence by enhancing access to support services such as shelters, public transportation options, counseling, medical and legal assistance, and support for equality and racial justice, in addition to equal economic opportunities to promote policies that eliminate inequality and gap among people of different ethnic groups. --SPA