President Yoon Suk Yeol said the competitive potential of local governments leads to national competitiveness and enables nation growth.

Speaking at the United Cities and Local Governments(UCLG) World Congress and Summit under way in the central city of Daejeon on Wednesday, Yoon pledged full support to reinforce municipal governments' financial capacity to become global leaders.

The president said the COVID-19 pandemic and the climate crisis call for a solidarity of not only countries but of local governments, adding that sharing their experiences would help humanity overcome various challenges.

Referring to his administration's key task of opening an era of local governments, Yoon said he plans to actively support regional governments to attain their full growth momentum. 

The UCLG is the only inter-municipal government body recognized by the United Nations, with a membership of 240-thousand local governments from 140 countries.