The president of the Federation of Municipalities and mayor of Ulea addresses more than 50 Chinese mayors at the China-Spain Mayors' Dialogue and maintains an intense institutional agenda in Beijing, Yantai and Shanghai

The representative of the mayors in the region is currently undertaking an intense and fruitful official tour of China, invited by the China Chair Foundation and the Chinese Embassy in Spain, as part of the prestigious China-Spain Mayors' Dialogue being held in Yantai, Shandong Province. López Abenza is not the only mayor from the region; Juan Jesús, the representative from Mula, is another of the Murcian politicians who have had the opportunity to participate in this experience. 

 In a top-level institutional visit, the president of the 45 municipalities of Murcia was received in an official audience by the vice-president of the Standing Committee of the Shandong People's Congress, Jiang Cheng, and held strategic bilateral meetings with the president of the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, Yang Wanming, and with the mayor of Yantai, Zhang Mingkang. 

Murcia extends a hand to China  

Before an audience of more than 50 mayors from across China, Víctor Manuel López addressed the Mayors' Forum with a clear and ambitious message: the Region of Murcia wants and needs to open itself up to China. "I come on behalf of the 45 municipalities of the Region of Murcia to extend a hand, to strengthen ties of friendship, and to open a permanent door to cooperation, investment, and shared growth," he stated. In his speech, the president emphasized Murcia's enormous potential as a land of opportunity. 

-A global agricultural powerhouse, a leader in exports and agri-food innovation. 

– A large industrial and technological capacity, with a competitive and flexible business fabric.

-A unique cultural, tourist, business and human wealth in the Spanish Mediterranean.

One of the highlights of his speech was his reference to WATER. López Abenza explained to the Chinese mayors how the Region of Murcia, despite being one of the driest areas in Europe, has become a global leader in water efficiency, innovation, treatment, and reuse. This management model sparked enormous interest among the Chinese delegations.

HISTORICAL PROPOSAL: CHINA-SPAIN MUNICIPAL NETWORK

 As a major contribution from Murcia to this international dialogue, the president of the Federation of Municipalities formally proposed at the forum the creation of the CHINA-SPAIN MUNICIPALITIES NETWORK FOR COOPERATION AND GROWTH. This network would serve as a direct bridge between Chinese and Spanish municipalities to channel investments, joint projects in agriculture, industry, and technology, and cultural, tourism, and business exchanges. "The municipalities of Murcia are eager to cooperate. We don't want to be spectators; we want to be active participants in the alliance between China and Spain at the local level," he emphasized.  

A WEEK TO PROMOTE MURCIA IN ASIA

With this agenda, the president of the Federation of Municipalities becomes the voice of the Region's 45 municipalities in Asia, taking the Region of Murcia brand to three key capital cities on a week-long tour: Beijing, Yantai, and Shanghai. This local diplomacy initiative positions the Region of Murcia and its municipalities on the map of major international opportunities.

The president of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia , Víctor Manuel López Abenza , and the president of the Official College of Physicians of the Region of Murcia, Francisco Miralles , held an institutional meeting with the aim of assessing the possibility of establishing a framework for collaboration between both entities on matters of common interest.

During the meeting, the possibility of moving towards a collaboration agreement aimed at promoting health, health dissemination and boosting training and information actions aimed at the citizens of the municipalities of the Region of Murcia was discussed.

The proposal is structured around three main axes: the dissemination of health-related activities and programs developed at the municipal level; collaboration in information and training initiatives on health topics of interest to the population, with the participation of doctors as speakers and disseminators; and the promotion of joint actions that allow generating synergies to improve the health of citizens.

Also participating in the meeting were the Secretary General of the FMRM, Antonio Moreno , and the representative of Retired Doctors on the Board of Directors of the College of Physicians, Domingo Coronado.

Both organizations have shown their willingness to continue working along these lines of institutional cooperation, with the aim of contributing to the well-being and improved health of the population of the Region of Murcia.

The Executive Committee of the Federation of Municipalities, composed of the mayors of Ulea, Ceutí, Fortuna, Caravaca, Beniel, Torre Pacheco, Abarán, Alcantarilla, Jumilla and Los Alcázares, unanimously approves all items on the agenda.

The Executive Committee of the Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia (FMRM) held its latest meeting to discuss four key points, most notably the launch of a pilot project for administrative mediation. This innovative initiative aims to improve conflict resolution in key areas of local public administration, such as public procurement, public works projects, and the use of public property. This initiative is a pioneering service at the national level, as very few public administrations offer such a service, with the exception of the Madrid City Council.

This experimental, limited-duration project will facilitate agile, effective, and balanced solutions, strengthening legal certainty and contributing to more efficient administrative management for the benefit of municipalities and citizens. The service will be implemented through a pilot program with a limited number of sessions distributed equitably among the participating municipalities, thus ensuring a representative and geographically balanced implementation.

The initiative will have an institutional evaluation and monitoring system that will allow the results to be analyzed and its possible continuation or expansion to be assessed, based on its effectiveness and usefulness for local entities.

Measures to strengthen municipalism

During the session, the Executive Committee also approved other strategic measures aimed at strengthening municipalism, including the hiring of consultancy services to study the feasibility of joint provision of municipal services in small municipalities, the approval of a budget item intended to support sporting events organized by associated municipalities, the hiring of specialized technical assistance in projects financed with European funds and the renewal of educational collaboration agreements with universities to become an organization that can offer internships to interested students.

All agreements reached during the meeting were approved unanimously, reflecting the consensus and shared commitment of the municipal representatives to promoting initiatives that strengthen local cooperation, administrative innovation, and the improvement of municipal public services. Indeed, at the FMRM, the Executive Committee consistently achieves unanimous agreement, a hallmark of this body since its inception.

The Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia continues to advance in its objective of strengthening the role of local governments, promoting innovative projects and offering tools that contribute to a more efficient, modern and citizen-focused public management.

The President of the FMRM, Víctor Manuel López Abenza, closed this morning the MURCIA MORE SAFER FORUM organized by the newspaper La Opinión, highlighting the fundamental role of the municipalities in citizen coexistence.

"The local police officer is the first face of the administration and a barometer of our community. That's why the new security strategy is a 'real rescue ' for the local level," said the representative of the mayors of the region.

This event was attended by prominent figures in administration and security, such as the president of the CARM (Mexico City Regional Government), Fernando López Miras; the Minister of the Presidency, Foreign Affairs, and Emergencies, Marcos Ortuño; the Chief Prosecutor of the Region, currently José Luis Díaz Manzanera; and the heads of the Local Police of Murcia and Lorca, José María Mainar and Agustín Fernández, respectively.

Figures and Commitment

  • 120 MILLION euros : An unprecedented allocation to strengthen local and municipal security.
  • 3.000 Agents The Region of Murcia's goal is to ensure greater peace and quiet in our neighborhoods and hamlets.
  • Mobile Police Stations The creation of 20 units is planned to provide security coverage to events, gatherings, and scattered areas.

The Federation of Municipalities of the Region of Murcia (FMRM) fully supports this plan. Forming a united front between the Regional Government and the 45 municipalities is the only way to become stronger.

A safer region is a more prosperous region with a higher quality of life!




The newspaper La Verdad publishes a report on municipal challenges, in which the undisputed protagonists are the 45 municipalities of the Region of Murcia.

The Federation of Municipalities opens this special issue, in which we share our own challenges, which, as could not be otherwise, aim to help improve the daily management of local public administration, which is undoubtedly the closest to citizens.

https://www.laverdad.es/especiales/implicacion-real-efectiva-fmrm-retos-ayuntamientos-20250316001602-nt.html

On this page we talk about:

-The need for new and better LOCAL FINANCING.

-The commitment to INCLUSION through dialogue between municipalities and the CARM (Carm), as well as the implementation of other projects that join forces in this area. Such as the Digital Rural Challenge initiative, for the acquisition of digital skills, in which the FMRM is working hand in hand with Fuerm.

-The provision of higher quality courses in the CONTINUOUS TRAINING PLAN for public employees.

-The pursuit of the objectives set out in the European projects in which the FMRM is involved related to CLIMATE CHANGE, SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY, and the DIGITALIZATION OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION. (Life City AdaP3 Climate Change Adaptation, LIFE GreenMe5, PROMOTER Interreg Europe #AdCap4GoodGov #Heatsafe #Capable) #RetoRuralDigitalChallenge

The FMRM in THE TRUTH