Association of local bodies of SAARC countries to be formed

, Oct 9: The first ever association of municipal associations of

countries will be formed and launched on Jan 1, 2013 and headquartered in New Delhi, announced the newly elected president of United Cities and Local Government (UCLG)- Asia Pacific, Jatin Modi.

Former Vadodara city mayor and now president of the All India Institute of Local Self Government (AILSG), Modi has been elected as president of UCLG - Asia Pacific at its convention held in Jakarata, Indonesia on Oct 4 last year, which was hosted by the governor of Jakarta.

On his return to the city, he told reporters here on Tuesday that it is the only organisation recognised by the United Nations Organisation (UNO) having membership of 7,000 local bodies from various countries including Japan, China, Taipei, Korea, India, Australia, Fiji, the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and others.

"The purpose behind it is to hold periodical meetings of the association at regular intervals and exchange good practices for good governance of local bodies and also conduct various training programme," he said. In addition, it is also planned to undertake a special project to promote twinning partnership between local government and the people.

PTI