WASHINGTON, DC – Last week, the U.S. Global Leadership Coalition (USGLC) and the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) hosted more than 30 mayors from across the country for “How America Wins in the World: Cities Matter,” a two-day program to discuss the most consequential challenges facing local communities, the United States, and the world and explore how U.S. global leadership directly impacts municipalities and informs solutions. 

The summit represents a growing recognition of the local significance of foreign policy decisions and global events as well as the role of cities and towns in advancing American interests. As trusted local leaders, mayors champion policies that prevent crises, counter rivals, and create economic opportunities for Americans at home. 

Speakers including USGLC CEO & President Liz Schrayer; CFR President Michael Froman; the Honorable Stephen Benjamin, former Mayor of Columbia, SC and former President of the U.S. Conference of Mayors; and General Laura J. Richardson, U.S. Army (Ret.) highlighted how U.S. foreign policy shapes local communities and emphasized the expanding role of mayors in diplomacy, global cooperation, and international partnerships. 

“We heard from mayors across the country from different parties who all share a common motivation—keeping their communities safe and their economies growing. Mayors see the consequences when America shrinks from the world, and the opportunities when we show up—creating export markets for our businesses, stopping drugs and disease from reaching our towns, and showcasing the best of our values. When America leads, American cities and towns win,” said Liz Schrayer, USGLC CEO & President. 

“Mayors are essential actors in U.S. foreign policy,” said Michael Froman, CFR President. “Cities are where international trade, immigration, and technological innovation intersect with people’s daily lives. By bringing together mayors from across the country, we’re strengthening the crucial—but underdeveloped—link between local leaders and the policy community in Washington, not to mention the rest of the world.”  

“America’s mayors are directly in contact with the hopes and dreams and challenges of our citizens every single day. This type of engagement in which you are listening to one and other and then fashioning and curating really thoughtful approaches to how we share the ideas and how we move forward together, that’s why this is so important,” said Stephen Benjamin, USGLC Co-Chair and former Mayor of Columbia, SC. 

Participating mayors also visited Capitol Hill to participate in educational conversations on how U.S. foreign policy impacts the health, economic, and security interests of their constituents every day. They have returned home equipped with new insights on a wide range of policy issues that affect their communities. The program builds on USGLC’s nationwide network of civic leaders and CFR’s State and Local Officials Initiative—which connects CFR’s foreign policy expertise to the local level—to ensure that America’s cities remain competitive and secure in an era of global challenges and opportunities. 

View a video recap of the program here.  

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