Bacolod City has been invited to attend a series of high-level international events in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from August 12 to 14, namely the ASEAN Sustainable Urbanisation Forum (ASUF), the ASEAN Governors and Mayors Forum (AGMF), and the Meeting of Governors and Mayors of ASEAN Capitals (MGMAC).
Bacolod Councilor Caesar Distrito will attend the events on behalf of Mayor Greg Gasataya and will be joined by Mary Jean Ramos, head of the City Planning, and Development Office (CPDO), and Dr. Anna Laarni Pornan, head of the City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (CDRRMO). The events are in line with Malaysia’s ASEAN chairmanship.
The gatherings will focus on the unifying theme “ASEAN Future Cities and Regions: Inclusivity and Sustainability,” highlighting forward-thinking visions for sustainable and inclusive development in ASEAN cities.
The Bacolod delegation will join a site visit to the Enviro Park that features their landfill, ecopark and power plant, attend Empowering City Leaders on Disaster Risk Reduction and Access to Climate Finance, official meetings, dialogues, open forums, training sessions, city programmes, technical visits and will make a presentation of 3R and Sanitary Landfill Management under Bacolod Integrated Recovery and Recycling Techno Hub (BIRTH) Project.
Airfare and other expenses will be sponsored by United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) and the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) for the Bacolod delegation.
“I am honored to represent Mayor Greg Gasataya and the people of Bacolod in this important ASEAN platform,” Distrito said. “This is an opportunity to learn from other leaders, share our city’s best practices, and build partnerships that will help us plan a more inclusive and sustainable future.”
Distrito had previously represented then Mayor Albee Benitez in Germany in a similar international gathering together with Ramos and Pornan, sponsored also by UCLG and GIZ.
The Kuala Lumpur events are organized by the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) Malaysia, in collaboration with URBANICE Malaysia, and supported by the ASEAN Secretariat. They are co-convened by UCLG Asia Pacific (UCLG ASPAC) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).*
