Somalilandsun: On March 17, at the initiative of the Moscow Government, the international online forum “COVID-19 vs Economy: Cities in the face of New Global Challenges” was held for the first time.
The event was attended by representatives of state and municipal authorities from 14 countries in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Latin and North America. The forum participants exchanged experiences and discussed possible ways to maintain and restore the urban economy in the context of the pandemic and the need to ensure a high level of public health protection.
According to Vladimir Efimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations, Moscow has successfully overcome the most difficult phase of the coronavirus pandemic. So, for 2020, the index of industrial production of manufacturing industries increased by 5.9% compared to 2019, the growth continued in early 2021: in January, the volume of production of manufacturing industries increased by 2.7% compared to January last year. Moscow has also maintained a high level of investment attractiveness – investments in fixed assets in 2020 increased by 1.7% compared to 2019, according to preliminary estimates, at comparable prices and amounted to 48.9 billion US dollars.
Other participants of the Forum as representatives of municipalities of different countries shared their experience of the fight against coronavirus.
First module of the event was attended by:
- Eui Seung Kim, Deputy Mayor of Seoul for Economic Policy
- His Excellency Sheikh Mohammed Bin Hamad Al-Thani, Director of Public Health Department of the Ministry of Public Health of Qatar
- Rong Zhiqin, Deputy Director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informationization
- Pongsakorn Kwanmuang, Spokesperson for Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
- Cui Xianhua, Head of the National Economy Division of the Beijing Development and Reform Committee
- Sri Haryati, Assistant Secretary for Jakarta Economy and Finance
- Tan See Leng, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore’s Second Minister for Trade and Industry and Singapore’s Second Minister for Manpower
The second module featured speeches by:
- Francesco Italia, Mayor of Syracuse
- Sabine Ohler, Director of International Business Agency of Vienna
- Marcel Balassiano, Undersecretary of Economic Development of Rio de Janeiro City Hall
- Alejo Rodriguez Cacio, the Investment and Trade Promotion Agency of Buenos Aires City
- Greg Chavarria, Deputy City Manager of Fort Lauderdale
- Andy Icken, Chief Economic Development Officer of Houston
- Mark Chandler, Head of International Trade and Commerce, San Francisco
- Jair Eridan Cabrera Padilla, Senior Advisor to the Secretary for Economic Development of the Government of Mexico City
Press service
