VIENNA, Sept. 3 (Xinhua) -- Bridge for Cities 4.0, an annual urban development forum organized jointly by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Finance Center for South-South Cooperation (FCSSC), opened here on Tuesday.
The event promotes the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development via the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in all participating countries. It aims to encourage municipal officials and development stakeholders to scale up their engagement in inclusive and sustainable urban-industrial development initiatives, according to UNIDO.
"The Belt and Road Initiative, with its emphasis on connectivity, is serving as an increasingly effective tool for knowledge exchange as well as for the advancement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development," said Li Yong, director general of UNIDO, at the forum's opening ceremony at the Vienna International Centre.
Cities occupy less than 0.5 percent of the world's land area, host 55 percent of the world's population, consume around 80 percent of our planet's resources and generate 80 percent of global gross domestic product (GDP), according to Li.
Joint actions to build sustainable and smart city initiatives are urgently needed, said Li. Through this platform, UNIDO is facilitating knowledge exchange and "bridging" of cities for the uptake of innovative technologies and business models.
Artificial intelligence, cloud computing, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) have been driving the development and transformation in cities, said Lian Weiliang, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, at the opening ceremony.
China is ready to work together with countries along the Belt and Road to build a "digital and innovation Silk Road" and seek resolutions that meet the needs of urban innovation and sustainable development, said Lian.
Cities are at the heart of the effort to achieve the sustainable development goals, and the United Nations (UN) is committed to fostering dialogue among cities and connecting them with key partners across the fields, according to a message from UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to the conference participants.
Over 30 mayors and more than 800 participants will attend the two-day event, which will include plenary sessions, exchanges between city leaders and businesses and mayors' roundtables.
The forum boasts increased power efficiency, waste reduction and environmentally friendly arrival and departure procedures. It has been awarded the Austrian Eco-Label for Green Meeting and Green Events.
