The mayor of Benidorm defends at the UN headquarters the role of local administrations to land and comply with the 2030 Agenda

The mayor of Benidorm and president of the Network of Local Entities of the 2030 Agenda of the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), Toni  Pérez, has defended the role of local administrations at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York, to land the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the territory and advance in their fulfilment. In a speech at the 'High-Level Political Forum for the 2030 Agenda', held yesterday at the UN and in response to a question posed by the representative of Chile, Toni Pérez pointed out that the City Councils “are the great experts on the problems that concern and affect citizens, responding to the needs that arise from local policies, actively involving citizens in the local solution to the global challenges we face, advancing environmental, economic and social sustainability.

Toni Pérez has travelled to New York in a Spanish delegation made up of the third vice president and Minister for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, Teresa Ribera; the Minister of Social Rights, Consumption and Agenda 2030, Pablo Bustinduy; the president of the Foral Community of Navarra, María Chivite; the vice president of the Sustainable Development Council, Isabel Iparraguirre; and the president of the Joint Commission for Monitoring the Spanish Strategy to achieve the SDGs, Engracia Rivera.

In his speech, the mayor stated that “Local Governments play a fundamental role in achieving the 2030 Agenda,” by having “the ability to translate a universal and broad agenda into concrete and tangible public policies, promoting inclusive development.” and sustainable.”

To those attending the forum, Toni Pérez explained that the Network of Local Entities of the 2030 Agenda that he presides over is made up of “637 local entities” that represent “more than 66% of the total population of Spain.” He added that the Network includes "other public and private entities" that collaborate "to advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda", consequently being "a clear example of SDG 17: Alliances to achieve the Goals."

Finally, he stated that the Network “is a space for training and transmission of knowledge for the entities that comprise it, favouring the exchange of good practices on how to advance in the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals.” In this sense, he announced that “we are working to have our Local Voluntary Reports in the short term” and thus “give greater visibility to our local contribution to the 2030 Agenda.”

Before participating in the forum, the Spanish delegation held a working meeting with the Spanish ambassador to the UN, Héctor Gómez,
Today, during the second and last day of work on American lands, the mayor is scheduled to be received by representatives of the New York City Council; a meeting in which the manager of Visit Benidorm, Leire Bilbao, will also participate. Later, and before heading to Spain, Toni Pérez will visit the children and young people at the football school that the vice president of Benidorm CF, David Villa, has in the city of skyscrapers.

(The forum can be seen at https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1t/k1t4y4r6vs, the UN web television. Spain's participation, which includes the mayor's speech, is in the first part of the broadcast).