The 4th General Assembly of AMF (China/Haikou)-2014

We, Mayors, Governors and Directors of Asian cities,
Having participated in the Fourth Meeting of the General Assembly of the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF) under the theme of “Innovative Economies: the Roles of Asian Cities and Local Governments” on November 25th 2014 in Haikou, China:
Cognizant of the persistent efforts made in establishing AMF in Tehran in November 2008, structuring it in April 2011 in Istanbul and substantiating it in 2012 in Bangkok;
Promoting the vision of clean and green cities in Asia with technologically advanced public transportation available to citizens by 2025;
Expressing our thanks and gratitude to Honorable M.R. Sukhumbhand Paribatra, the distinguished Governor of Bangkok and the Third President of the AMF, for his able leadership and substantial support in promoting the AMF;
Commending the foresight and generosity of Tehran Municipality, under the leadership of Honorable Dr. Mohammad Ghalibaf, in founding and continuously supporting the AMF Secretariat since its establishment in 2008;
Extending our thanks and appreciations to Honorable Mr. Ni Qiang, Mayor of Haikou for excellent organization of the fourth AMF General Assembly meeting and welcoming his election as the fourth President of AMF;
Appreciating the efforts by Honorable Mr. Mohammad Khodadadi, the AMF Secretary General and his team at the secretariat, for their dedicated efforts in promoting AMF international status and expansion of its relations with other sister organizations;
Promoting innovative ideas and successful projects as put into practice by AMF Mayors and member cities, including smart and sustainable economies, using new technologies for developing mobile and human –oriented public transportation, inter-city tourist facilities and services waste management and preservation of water resources; and encourage all AMF members to further exchange their best practices and project information through the AMF Secretariat and its website;

• Determine to enhance local governance institutions in our cities and promote innovative economic cooperation among Asian cities in order to reinforce sustainable development in Asian cities;
• Resolve to work together for furthering prosperity, reducing developmental gap, achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), expanding people-to-people relations, and eradicating poverty in Asian cities through regional and global networking;
• Encourage all Members to further engage in bilateral as well as multilateral city-to-city cooperation with a view to expanding the scope of sharing their best practices and competitive innovations in urban management;
• Identify the following priority areas for further collaboration of member cities in the next two years:
  Encouraging further economic cooperation among Asian cities with particular emphasis on investment opportunities and project financing;
  Devising an AMF Internet portal for sharing information, exchanging news and ideas, facilitating cooperation on joint projects, and networking in the face of common challenges;
  c. Facilitating academic and professional exchanges in all fields’ relevant to urban management including, in particular, tourism, business, and economic cooperation among Asian cities;
  d. Developing a data bank of reports on successful urban projects by all member cities;
  Exchange of experiences and sharing of best practices in urban management particularly in public transportation, natural disaster management, etc.;
• Decide to grant AMF Honorary Membership to Professor Masoud Islami in recognition of his valuable contributions to the realization of aims and objectives of the Asian Mayors Forum and to the promotion of institutional cooperation among Asian cities.
• Decide to grant AMF Honorary Membership to Professor Younghoon Kwaak, The President of World Citizens Organization (WCO) for his fruitful exchanges and profound cooperation between AMF and WCO in promotion of our common goals and purposes and serving the citizens of the whole world .
• Welcome the AMF Awards Initiative on the basis of principles and procedures proposed by the Executive Board to include the following:
  o a. a biannual award to a mayor of an Asian city who makes outstanding and remarkable achievement in urban management;
  o b. a biannual award to an outstanding journalist; media correspondent; web-site manager; artist, who covers best practices in urban projects in Asian cities;
  o c. a biannual award to an academician; researcher; professional who conducts an outstanding publication providing innovative solutions to common challenges of Asian cities.
• Appreciate the initiative by Tehran Municipality to set up a regional committee for cooperation among Asian cities in the field of urban traffic and transportation and develop a web based data bank on urban traffic & transportation with human-oriented approach based on the concepts of mobility and sustainable development, pursuant to Article 8 of AMF Bangkok Declaration, and encourage all member cities to collaborate and provide relevant data and information for further development and operationalization of the initiative;
• Approve the Secretariat’s Annual Budget, as endorsed by the Executive Board, and authorize the AMF Secretary-General to utilize resources available through members’ contributions in fulfillment of his tasks and in accordance with the AMF annual budget.
• Call Upon AMF members to provide their respective membership fees, as well as voluntary contributions, in due time;
• Adopt the proposals by the Executive Board on the following nominations:
  o a) The city of Gaziantep, Turkey as the venue for the Fifth AMF General Assembly in 2016, and its Mayor as the next AMF President from 2016 till 2018;
  o b) Appreciate volunteering of the cities of Tehran, Qazvin, Amman, Karachi, Antalya, Baalbek, and Kazan for hosting upcoming Executive Boards and the Standing Commissions of AMF for the years of 2015& 2016.
  Detailed information and exact program for each event shall be provided by the Secretariat.
• Request the Secretary General to pursue the implementation of the decisions made by the General Assembly as reflected in this Haikou Declaration, as well as previous declarations, and report on the progress achieved to the AMF Executive Board and the General Assembly.