Local leaders from across the G7 gathered today in Kobe for the fourth Urban7 (U7) Mayors' Summit, held alongside the Kobe City Global Conference marking the 30th anniversary of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake. The Summit highlighted 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), which is chairing the U7 under Canada’s 2025 G7 Presidency.
Kizō Hisamoto, Mayor of Kobe, opened the Summit, 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."
During the discussions, Eckart Würzner, Mayor of Heidelberg and participant in both the U7 and the Kobe Conference, underlined the convergence between the Kobe Joint Statement and the U7 outcome document to be published in May:
“..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.”
Matthew Bach, ICLEI Europe’s Regional Director for Governance and Policy, represented ICLEI Europe alongside Togo Uchida, Executive Director of ICLEI Japan, who moderated and facilitated the meeting. Their engagement underscored ICLEI’s longstanding commitment to elevating the voice of local governments on the international stage and advancing multilevel cooperation within the G7 process.
The Summit was attended amongst others 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 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 U7 Summit was hosted with the support of Kobe City and held in conjunction with the Kobe Global Conference, culminating in the Kobe Joint Statement - an important milestone reaffirming the commitment of local and regional leaders to work hand-in-hand with national governments for a resilient, democratic, and sustainable future.
About the U7:
The G7 Urban7 (U7) advocates for a continuous dialogue between the G7 nations and municipal actors represented by national associations and supported by international city networks. It addresses the G7 Presidency and is moved forward by a strong urban alliance. The U7 Group is steered by the U7 Secretariat, consisting of ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability and the Global Parliament of Mayors (GPM). The city association from the country leading the G7 that year fulfills the role of chair and liaison with the G7 presidency for the group. In 2025, under Canada’s G7 Presidency, the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) fulfills that role
For more information about the U7/Urban 7 visit: https://g7u7.org/