We, the mayors and city officials, convened in the 6th Conference of the General Assembly of the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF) on 8- 10 March 2022, hosted by the City of Dushanbe with the assistance and cooperation provided by the City Government of Tajikistan,
Following the path already taken and activities so far carried out, including in the conferences held in Tehran 2008, Istanbul 2011, Bangkok 2012, Haikou 2014, and Gaziantep 2018, and emphasizing the continued relevance of the final Declarations adopted therein,
Emphasizing the crucial role of municipalities in enhancing the quality of life, realizing sustainable economic growth and promoting good governance at local, national and regional levels;
Cognizant of the persistent common challenges defying effective and productive urban development and local governance, including rapid urbanization, urban inequality and poverty, vulnerable socio-cultural identity, poor conditions of health and safety, uneasy public transportation and mobility, environmental degradation, natural disasters, inefficient energy consumption, incomplete infrastructure, and unstable financial resources,
Aware of the imperative for further developing networking among Asian cities to facilitate exchange of information and sharing best practices relevant to sustainable urban development, Emphasizing the need for expanding collaboration with relevant regional and international organizations;
Expressing gratitude to the people and authorities of Republic of Tajikistan and the capital city of Dushanbe, especially H.E. Mr. Rustami Emomali, the honorable Mayor of the city, for their generous hospitality accorded to all participants during the meeting,
Expressing gratitude to the distinguished former and current mayors of the cities of Tehran, Istanbul, Bangkok, Haiku and Gaziantep for hosting meetings and leading this Forum since 2008,
Appreciating the efforts made by the AMF Secretariat in doing the preparatory work, including documentation and logistics,
Extending our appreciation to the continued support of the city and mayor of Tehran for hosting the AMF’s Secretariat and to the distinguished AMF Secretary-General and his colleagues for their efforts for planning, preparing and organizing the 6th AMF General Assembly in Dushanbe,
Recalling the vision of “Asia for citizens, integration for a better life” and mindful of the theme of the 6th AMF General Assembly, that is, “Urban Social Capital: Public Trust and Participation” and the discussions in the technical committee sessions,
Considering the key role of social capital, public trust and participation in the success and excellence of local governance and urban management and the realization of better cities for a better life for citizens
- We call upon all national, central and local governments, municipalities and other key stakeholders to help strengthen and promote social capital, public trust and participation through constructive and hopeful policies, programs and actions and, in this direction, use all economic, social, cultural, political, administrative and legal capacities in a creative and innovative way at various levels.
- Using the deep and extensive experience of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has been going on for more than two years, greatly affecting the lives of all inhabitants of the planet, especially the citizens of cities in all dimensions and levels, and being a turning point in the history of civilization and the human life style, We call upon all governments, organizations, institutions and decision-making bodies, policymakers and agents at the local, national, regional and global levels to create and develop infrastructures, provide services and facilities in the field of prevention of diseases, improve public health and also invest in developing and strengthening disaster and crisis management systems, and make necessary changes and reforms in the areas of foresight, policy-making, planning, implementation and evaluation.
- Based on the evaluation of the performance of work of the technical committees, working groups and networks in 2019-2021, and while appreciating the work of the active committees despite the pandemic, the General Assembly agrees with their continuous working and requests all of them, especially less active ones, to expand and develop their performance during the coming years. The Executive Board will consider their performance in its next session and decide about the continuation and completion of their activities. These committees are as follows:
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o 1-1 Social capital, public trust and participation,
o 1-2 Smart cities,
o 1-3 Resilient cities,
o 1-4 Urban tourism,
o 1-5 Urban health,
o 1-6 Livable cities,
o 1-7 Urban transportation and traffic,
o 1-8 Urban environment and green cities,
o 1-9 Financial resources, investment and urban economy,
o 1-10 Women and Youths Network,
o 1-11 City Councils Network; - While inviting member cities to participate actively and effectively in these specialized committees, networks and working groups, we mandate the Secretariat of the Forum to plan for holding annual meetings, trainings and related activities, create a data base and a network for the exchange of information, knowledge and experience in these areas of expertise, and to report annually on its works to the Executive Board meetings as well as to the 2024 General Assembly.
- While inviting member cities to participate actively and effectively in the referred-to specialized committees and working groups, we mandate the Secretariat of the Forum to plan for holding annual meetings, courses and related educational workshops, and creating a data base and a network for the exchange of information, knowledge and experience in these areas of expertise, and to report annually on its works to Executive Board meetings as well as to the 2024 General Assembly.
- Following the emphasized issues in the previous final declarations of the Forum, we emphasize the need for paying special attention to and developing systems and mechanisms to facilitate timely communication and interaction between the Secretariat and Asian cities and other audiences, and the need for the proper development and operation of the website and social media.
- We mandate the Secretariat to continue its efforts, in consultation with the authorities of the member cities and other experts, to design and establish an annual award to identify and recognize the best practices and projects and the best mayor of Asian cities, aiming at providing a better environment for citizens and achieving the goals of the Forum and its decisions in the previous final declarations, as well as advancing ideals of Asian integration, and report to the 2023 Executive Board meeting.
- We call upon all member mayors and city officials to participate seriously and effectively in the development of the AMF’s programs and activities and to achieve its goals, in any possible way, including timely payment of membership fees, voluntary contributions, hosting general and technical events and maintaining constructive and continuous communication and interaction with the Secretariat and demonstrating their commitment and support to the goals and ideals of the AMF. The agreement and consensus of the members on the material and spiritual support of the Secretariat of the Forum will make it more capable in carrying out the missions and realizing the ideals of the AMF.
- The AMF Executive Board and the General Assembly expresses its thanks and appreciation to Dr. Goshtasb Mozafari for serving in an honest, professional and effective way as the acting AMF Secretary-General in 2018 and as the AMF Secretary-General during the term 2019-2021 and endorses the proposal made by H.E. Dr. Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran, to approve is membership as the honorary member of the AMF.
- Following the proposal made by H.E. Dr. Alireza Zakani, the Mayor of Tehran, as the founding city and the host of the AMF permanent Secretariat, to the Executive Board to appoint Mr. Hamidreza Gholamzadeh as the new AMF Secretary-General, the General Assembly endorses the recommendation of the Executive Board to that effect.
- The General Assembly endorses the decisions of the Executive Board on approving the financial report (2019-2021), the Action Plan and the proposed budget for the year 2022.
- The General Assembly approves the full or associate membership of the following cities whose applications were presented after the 5th General Assembly: Beit Jala, Palestine, Mersin,Turkey, Itahari, Nepal, Rankooh, Gilan, Iran, Colombo, Sri Lanka, Fardis, Iran, Ardabil, Iran.
- Technical committees, namely the urban livability committee, urban health committee, smart cities committee, resilient cities committee and urban tourism committee held their sessions during the 6th general assembly in which they discussed their relevant technical topics and came up with some recommendations to improve the living environment in the cities which will be posted in the website of the AMF. The General Assembly recommends the member cities to consider these recommendations and take them into account in their urban policy making.
In light of the overarching goal of the AMF to encourage “Asian Integration”, the General Assembly hopes that its activities help advance the ideal of peoples of Asia to come together and share their experiences towards welfare and prosperity across this vast, ancient and pioneering continent.
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