(C) U.S. State Dept This story was originally published by U.S. State Dept and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Subnational Diplomacy Unit [1] [] Date: 2023-07-07 Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center) takes a group photo at the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ 91st Winter Meeting in Washington, Jan. 18. From left: Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy Ambassador Nina Hachigian, Blinken, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt, and Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve. Photo by Ron Przysucha By Nina Hachigian, Daniel Ricchetti, and Irina Karmanova Global problems are now local. Mayors, governors, county leaders, and other local officials in the United States and around the world are on the frontlines of some of the biggest global challenges—from tackling extreme weather and pandemics to creating opportunities for economic development, building equity, defending democracy, and settling refugees. Local governments are a critical part of the response and solution to these concerns. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken delivers closing remarks at the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colo., April 28. Photo by Freddie Everett “On issue after issue, in city after city, local leaders are pointing the way to effective solutions,” said Secretary of State Antony Blinken during remarks at the Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, April 28. To advance the goals of President Joe Biden’s Foreign Policy for the Middle Class and to make foreign policy work for all Americans, in October 2022, Blinken appointed Ambassador Nina Hachigian as the first special representative for city and state diplomacy and established the Subnational Diplomacy Unit within the Office of Global Partnerships, within the Office of the Under Secretary of Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment. “We recognize the importance of delivering benefits to local communities, as well as integrating the ideas of our cities and communities into our policymaking,” said Blinken in his announcement of Hachigian’s new role. For U.S. foreign policy to benefit all Americans, local leaders must be part of the conversation. The special representative and her team engage with mayors, governors, and other local leaders to better understand their foreign policy priorities and work with them to ensure that the Department of State incorporates these priorities and insights into the Administration’s agenda, with the aim of bringing tangible benefits of foreign policy to their communities. The team focuses on local leaders’ interests, including finding solutions to global challenges that impact their residents, creating new jobs by engaging with the world, and finding international opportunities for their young people. The team is partnering with the Department of Commerce to make the process of identifying trade and investment opportunities more transparent, particularly for underserved communities. Additionally, they are raising awareness about exciting opportunities for young people through the Department’s international educational and cultural exchange programs. They are also connecting mayors and governors with international counterparts and with global city and state networks for exchanges of ideas that can contribute solutions to some of the world’s most challenging problems. By bringing jobs, culture, events, ideas, and people to localities, city and state diplomacy benefits local residents. When local leaders are globally engaged, they can help the Department in three major ways: tackling transnational threats directly, especially climate change (their decisions on energy sources, transport, and more have a direct effect on greenhouse gas emissions reduction and building resilience to climate change impacts); sharing their experiences with the Department and their foreign counterparts on common challenges; and carrying the U.S. flag on their trade missions and at global gatherings of subnational leaders. In its first nine months, the Subnational Diplomacy team has succeeded in raising the profile of city and regional diplomacy and spurred considerable new activity within and outside the Department. Local officials and city networks have expressed deep gratitude for the creation of the team and now regularly seek advice and collaboration. The team has fielded hundreds of inquiries, often connecting local leaders with experts across the Department. Looking ahead, the team wants to enable increased participation of U.S. mayors on the international stage. As Blinken noted at the Cities Summit of the Americas, subnational engagement is becoming “an increasingly critical part of what we’re doing” at the Department. In January 2023, Blinken addressed the U.S. Conference of Mayors, becoming the first secretary of state ever to do so. He emphasized that mayors’ “leadership is vital, and it’s going to be even more so in the years ahead.” During the winter meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors highlighted the critical importance of the Subnational Diplomacy Unit as the front door to the Department for mayors. Another focus area for the team is working to highlight the importance of local communities in maintaining democratic institutions through the Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy. “Cities, when you come down to it, are where democracy is closest to its people,” said Blinken at the Cities Summit of the Americas. “And when cities are responsive to the needs of residents, they demonstrate democracy’s greatest strength: its ability to improve on itself, to empower citizens to hold their leaders accountable, to try out different solutions, and to allow the best ideas to rise to the top.” During the second Summit for Democracy in March, the Subnational Diplomacy Unit worked with USAID to co-sponsor a virtual event on the Global Declaration of Mayors for Democracy, which has more than 200 signatures from global mayors. The event featured mayors from Kyiv, Amsterdam, St. Louis, Banjul, Buenos Aires, Cantón, and Seoul. The summit showcased the challenges they face and solutions they are forging to maintain democratic practices. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (center) and U.S. Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy Ambassador Nina Hachigian (third from left) meet with women mayors during the Cities Summit of the Americas at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver, Colo., April 28. Photo by Chuck Kennedy Most recently, the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas was a first of its kind for the Department. The summit brought together more than 2,500 subnational leaders to participate in over 100 sessions and events. “Deeper connections between cities and national governments can make a profound difference in the lives and livelihoods of our people,” said Blinken. Hosted by the Department and the city of Denver, the Cities Summit of the Americas convened state, local, and indigenous leaders, global city networks, and civil society, private sector, academic, and youth representatives to support progress on city challenges, share ideas, and help national governments learn more about the perspectives of cities and communities. More than 250 mayors from 35 countries across Latin America gathered to discuss local priorities, implementation of commitments from last year’s Ninth Summit of the Americas, cultivation of regional cooperation, and strengthening of city-to-city ties throughout the hemisphere. Mayors had vibrant discussions on pragmatic approaches to clean energy solutions and environmental sustainability, expanding access to digital technology, inclusive economic growth, affordable housing, humane and orderly migration, women’s empowerment, promoting democratic governance, equitable social inclusion across the hemisphere, and much more. From left: Special Representative for City and State Diplomacy Ambassador Nina Hachigian participates in a fireside chat with Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko at the inaugural Cities Summit of the Americas in Denver, Colo., April 27. Photo by Freddie Everett During the Summit, Hachigian led a fireside chat with Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko on the role cities are playing in upholding democratic institutions. She also participated in Blinken’s roundtable with women mayors from Tucson, Ariz.; Wausau, Wis.; Fremont, Calif.; Bogotá, Colombia; and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic; on what efforts are required to build equitable cities. The transformative connections made across the Americas will continue well beyond the Summit in Denver, which concluded with several major deliverables: Cities Forward, the Department’s flagship urban sustainability initiative in the Western Hemisphere designed to help participating cities build a sustainable, inclusive, and resilient future; the Memorandum of Understanding on Combating Fentanyl, an agreement between the city of Denver’s Office of the Medical Examiner and the Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs to enhance efforts to combat fentanyl use in communities across the United States and abroad; and the Denver Declaration on City Priorities for Regional Cooperation, a landmark commitment signed by more than 50 mayors attending the summit to advance mutual priorities across their local communities. “The Denver Declaration is the perfect way to cap a week of dialogue and new partnerships,” said Hancock. “It highlights the transformational work that began this week and will continue to benefit local communities throughout the hemisphere.” The answers to many shared global challenges begin at the local level. Local leaders are working on many of the same issues as the Department, including the climate crisis, economic growth and opportunity, public health, cybersecurity and more. By connecting local leaders with international partners, their counterparts, global city networks, businesses and others, the Department helps foster solutions that can make a tangible difference to local communities. As subnational diplomacy and global engagement at the city and state level become increasingly more significant around the world, the Subnational Diplomacy Unit at the Department will continue to serve as a direct line to local leaders. For more information, visit the Subnational Diplomacy Unit’s website. Nina Hachigian is the special representative for city and state diplomacy, Daniel Ricchetti is the deputy special representative for city and state diplomacy, and Irina Karmanova is communications director in the Subnational Diplomacy Unit. 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