The Diplomat
Bilbao will host the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Local2030 Coalition, a United Nations platform in charge of promoting the fulfillment at the local level of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals.
As reported yesterday by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release, the UN has informed Spain of the acceptance of Bilbao’s candidacy as the headquarters of the Secretariat of the Local2030 Coalition.
“The joint work of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, the Ministry of Social Rights and Agenda 2030, the Basque Government and the City Council of Bilbao has achieved that the Biscayan capital has been selected as the headquarters of the UN body responsible for coordinating the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals at the levels closest to the citizen,” added the department headed by José Manuel Albares.
“This decision means the presence of a new UN agency in Spanish territory and a boost to our country’s leadership in the world in terms of localizing the SDGs,” it continued. “Therefore, Spain, the Basque Country and the city of Bilbao are recognized as a reference in terms of territorialization, acknowledging its transformative role in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda,” it added.
The Local2030 Coalition is responsible for promoting activity from cities, autonomous and national governments and the private sector to localize the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda. From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this candidacy had been promoted “as part of Spain’s commitment to the 2030 Agenda.”
“The decentralized political and administrative structure of our country makes local and regional governments key players in the development of the Agenda,” stressed Foreign Affairs. “This decision is, in short, an endorsement of Spain’s multilateral commitment to the SDGs and the 2030 Agenda, as well as to our country’s administrative structure,” the Ministry concluded.
