29 April 2025

U7 Mayors' Summit in Kobe concludes in Push for Formal Recognition in the G7 Process

Local leaders from G7 countries gathered today in Kobe for the fourth Urban7 (U7) Mayors' Summit, alongside the Kobe City Global Conference marking the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The Summit reinforced the critical role of cities and regions in shaping G7 discussions and tackling global challenges with local impact.

In a world facing rapid urbanisation and evolving global risks, mayors from across the G7 issued a unified call for the formal recognition of the U7 as an official G7 engagement group. Such recognition would enable systematic and permanent dialogue between local leaders and G7 ministers, ensuring better cooperation on cross-cutting urban issues vital to creating equal opportunities, sustainable economies, and resilient communities.

Mayors underscored the importance of rules-based international engagement, strong partnerships between levels of governments, and the crucial role of cities in building these partnerships, supporting peace and democracy, and delivering aid and expertise to war-ravaged communities such as in Ukraine.

At the heart of discussions were topics of key priority for local leaders and communities, including climate action, democracy, peacebuilding, international city-to-city cooperation, housing affordability, digital governance, and the need for stronger multilevel cooperation between local and national governments.

Their discussions will culminate in a joint declaration which will be shared with G7 leaders later this year in cooperation with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM), chairing the U7 during the G7 presidency of Canada.

Kizō Hisamoto, Mayor of Kobe, welcomed delegates stating:

"As we mark 30 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, Kobe is proud to host the fourth U7 Mayors Summit alongside the Kobe Global Conference. This is a crucial moment to reaffirm local and regional governments as important partners in fostering international cooperation, sheltering citizens from the dangers of climate change, and empowering them in their role as guardians of democracy, and key contributors to peace and economic resilience and prosperity. The U7 is an important vehicle for us in working closer across all levels of government in the G7. We hope U7 will be recognised as an official G7 engagement group this year, which will be essential for jointly advancing towards G7 objectives and a better, more affordable, resilient and sustainable future for our communities.

Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg, taking part in the U7 meeting and the Kobe conference highlighted the harmony between the conference's joint statement and the U7 outcome document to be published in May emphasising "...the past has taught us that crises are solved in and by cities. However, this does not happen against the state, but together with it."

The Summit was attended by representatives from city associations from all G7 countries, including Hayato Shimizu, Mayor of Saitama City (Japan), Berry Vrbanovic, Mayor of Kitchener (Canada), Pia Imbs, President of the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg (France), Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg (Germany), Pierluigi Biondi, Mayor City of L'Aquila (Italy), Susan Aitken, Leader of the Glasgow City Council (UK), Barbara Buffaloe, Mayor of Columbia, Missouri (US), and Ricardo Rio, Mayor of Braga (Portugal), member of Eurocities, representing the European Union. The meeting was hosted by and with the support from Kobe City on the sidelines of the Kobe Global Conference.