Seychelles for first time hosted the 10th Executive Committee meeting of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A) were the pivotal role of local government in propelling the African continent to higher levels of growth and sustainable development was the overriding theme.

Vice President, Danny Faure officially opened the 10th UCLG-A meeting, delivering his keynote address and noted, "In this year that we are celebrating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of local administration in Seychelles, we are proud to add a new layer to the broad partnership that we are building with UCLG-A as we collectively reinvigorate efforts aimed at improving local governance and building sustainable cities in Africa."

Vice President Faure emphasised that Seychelles is committed to working with African local authorities, as they are the driving forces, which will inherently spur African development in an increasingly globalised world.

"In our globalised world, there is now little difference between what is local and what is global. What happens in our cities have global repercussions. What happens in our districts, can resonate at a global level.  And correspondingly, what happens at a global scale directly affects the lives of our citizens," said the Vice President.

The Vice President stressed that the challenges of globalisation must be surmounted and viewed as an opportunity and not a threat. This is achievable through the empowerment local populations both in terms of structures, and in terms of giving people the platforms to bring about change themselves.

In his address, the Vice President stressed the need for adequate funding and real commitment to drive development whilst also engaging civil society to create dialogue. He further noted that Seychelles places great importance on the role of local government as key partners in advancing sustainable human development that is an integral component to building sustainable cities. As such, the generation of wealth from all cities regardless of size is central to the overall country's success.

Vice President Faure lauded Khalifa Ababacar Sall, President of the UCLG-A and Mayor of Dakar for his tireless work in uniting African cities and also praised the Secretary General of the organsiation, Jean-Pierre Mbassi for his strong leadership in creating global awareness of the role of local authorities.