Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities Alliance

About

The Maritime-Continental Silk Road Cities Alliance (MCSR CA) was developed to align with the cross-regional Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which connects countries of Asia, Africa and Europe. Championed by China in 2013, the BRI has gained the political support of more than 60 participating countries and international organizations.

The MCSR CA aims to tackle trade and investment and other sustainable development issues at the city level with the full engagement and ownership of local authorities and stakeholders. It has been designed to facilitate the coordination of policies, building of partnerships, formulation of local projects/ initiatives, and access to finance in Africa, Asia, Europe and globally.

In 2017, UNOSSC signed a full-fledged global project funded by the Government of China to support the work of the MCSR CA. The full-fledged MCSR Cities Alliance project seeks to further align its support for the five priority areas of the BRI namely: policy coordination; infrastructure connectivity; unimpeded trade; financial integration; and people-to-people exchanges.

MSCR CA is a membership-based initiative. It operates through a number of bodies:

• The Cities Alliance Assembly is comprised of all members of the MCSR CA. It serves as a forum which brings together mayors and other senior officials to discuss high-level issues such as policy alignment.
• The Business Council, comprised of representatives from government, the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, to promote intra-city trade and investment.
• Multi-stakeholder Specialized Committees, each with a specific thematic focus. To date, Committees on smart cities and emerging industry; outdoor sports; education-science, culture and communication; investment and trade promotion; and sports have been established. Committees on finance; transit and logistics; traditional medicine; new energy; tourism; think tanks; and environmental protection are planned.