UNOSSC Cities Project Sets New Goals for 2020 Amidst COVID-19 Complexities

The South-South and Triangular Cooperation among Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities for Sustainable Development Project (Silk Road Cities Project) of the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) concluded a two-hour Steering Committee meeting online, during which milestones in 2019 were spotlighted and a work plan aimed at enlarging the Project’s partnership base and supporting cities’ COVID-19-related needs was endorsed.

South-South Solidarity Among Cities: Yên Bái of Vietnam donates 10,000 surgical masks to Yuxi of China

Yuxi reached out to its international partners for support of critical medical supplies when the COVID-19 outbreak emerged. Yên Bái City (Yên Bái Province, Viet Nam), one of Yuxi’s international city partners, therefore donated 10,000 surgical masks and had them delivered to Yuxi on 1 February 2020 with the coordination of the Yuxi government. According to the Yuxi government, Yên Bái and Yuxi signed a statement of intent to establish “International Friendship City” partnership (“国际友好城市”关系意向书) in October 2019. Yuxi maintained that the donation made by Yên Bái had deepened the friendship and mutual trust between the two cities and laid a foundation for the formal establishment of a city-to-city partnership.

Quanzhou pledges and donates surgical masks to Isfahan city partners in Iran

Following the call for donations of medical supplies and Personal protective equipment (PPEs) initiated by the Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities Alliance (MCSR CA) Business Council on 29 February, close to 80,000 surgical masks manufactured in Quanzhou City of China will be shipped to Iran in the coming days in response to the COVID-2019 Outbreak. Besides, the Quanzhou-based NGO is reaching out to more partners to invite pledges for critical medical supplies to affected countries.

Cities Project Landing in South-South Galaxy

South-South Galaxy, is a global knowledge sharing and partnership brokering platform, supported by UNOSSC, UN agencies and development partners. A web page compiling major events of the Cities Project has been created and released on South-South Galaxy, to advocate the Cities Project to a wider audience. Interested? Come and visit!

South-South Cities Exchange: Capable Cooperatives Are Key to Replicating Yuxi Practices in Nepal

A South-South learning exchange on agriculture value chain and solar-driven irrigation took place in Yuxi city of China from 18 to 20 December 2019. Representatives from two Nepalese cities, Khajura and Bardaghat, the United Nations Development Program in Nepal and Nepal-China Cultural and Educational Council participated in this field learning exchange. This exchange was supported and coordinated by the World Food Programme (WFP) Centre of Excellence in China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China. Field visits were arranged by the Bureau of Agriculture of Yuxi.

UNOSSC at the Tenth Session of the World Urban Forum (WUF10)

UNOSSC participated at the World Urban Forum spotlighting cities’ roles in advancing the #2030Agenda through #SouthSouthCooperation

Cities in Solidarity for Covid-2019 Responses