Translated by Andrés Martínez Forero
Bogotá, My City, My Home continues to host major regional and international gatherings. More than 50 mayors, national officials and local leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Bogotá and Barranquilla for the Inter-American Development Bank’s (IDB) 2026 Mayors’ Meeting, held from September 2 to 4, 2026. The event is one of the region’s leading forums for exchanging experiences and developing solutions to the challenges facing cities.
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During the opening session on Wednesday, September 2, Carlos Fernando Galán, Mayor of Bogotá, emphasized the strategic role of local governments and the need for greater decentralization to strengthen their ability to respond to residents’ needs.
“Cities are where people first come into contact with government. Now more than ever, we need to move forward with decentralization. We need local governments with greater resources, stronger capabilities and more autonomy so they can respond more quickly to people’s concerns. As we look ahead, Bogotá is ready to continue contributing. Cities will be the first to respond,” Mayor Galán said during the event.
The mayor also highlighted the importance of cities sharing experiences and solutions to common challenges.
“As cities, we face many of the same challenges, and we can also share solutions that improve people’s lives. Bogotá has a great deal to share and a great deal to learn,” he said during the opening session.
The importance of empowering local governments was also highlighted during the event by Colombian President Abelardo de la Espriella.
“Urban solutions cannot and should not be designed from the center of the country. They need to be developed locally, together with mayors and governors,” the president said.
He also expressed his commitment to the expansion of the Bogotá Metro.
“As President of the Republic of Colombia, I have made a firm commitment to help complete
Bogotá Metro Line 1, move forward with Lines 2 and 3, and begin planning now for Line 4.”
Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán marked the opening of the Inter-American Development Bank’s 2026 Mayors’ Meeting in this post on X:
Para Bogotá es un honor ser una de las sedes de la reunión de alcaldes de este año de la Red de Ciudades del BID, un espacio para pensar cómo las ciudades generan transformación.
— Carlos F. Galán (@CarlosFGalan) September 2, 2026
En medio de la emergencia y ante los desafíos del fenómeno de El Niño, este encuentro es más… pic.twitter.com/z5SLAbODaY
A network to strengthen cities
Ramiro López Guio, the IDB’s representative in Colombia, explained that the Bank’s Cities Network currently brings together 300 cities and works to strengthen local governments’ ability to address major urban challenges.
He noted that nearly 80% of the population of Latin America and the Caribbean currently lives in cities, a figure that could reach 90% by 2050. Against this backdrop, he stressed the urgency of strengthening local capacity to address challenges such as housing shortages, public safety, crime, poverty and inequality.
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At the same time, he highlighted the significant opportunities cities offer for economic growth and productivity. He noted that knowledge exchange, best practices, technical assistance and access to financing are essential to improving public policy and encouraging investment.
“A major part of the added value lies in bringing technical expertise and best practices to the table and, on that basis, improving the quality of public policy and public investment while creating the right conditions for private investment,” López Guio said.
Bogotá and Barranquilla host the meeting
The 2026 Mayors’ Meeting took place from September 2 to 4 and, for the first time, was hosted by two cities in the same country: Bogotá and Barranquilla.
Following the opening session in Bogotá, participants traveled to Barranquilla to continue exchanging experiences on issues including fiscal sustainability, mobilizing financing and investment, and strengthening resilience and productivity.
The meeting brought together representatives from cities including Rio de Janeiro, Buenos Aires, Guadalajara, San José, Cali, Panama City, Curitiba, Villavicencio, Kingston and Montevideo, among others.
The event sought to strengthen a regional network of local leaders through which cities can share experiences, build institutional capacity and put practical solutions to urban challenges into action.
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For Bogotá, the meeting provided an opportunity to share the city’s own transformation experience while learning from solutions being implemented elsewhere across the region.
*This article was created using information provided by the Bogotá’s International Relations Office and curated by a journalist from Portal Bogotá. For suggestions, questions, or more information, visit Bogotá Te Escucha: https://bogota.gov.co/sdqs/
