OVER 300 LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES FROM 17 COUNTRIES GATHERED IN KONYA
FOCUS ON LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND PEACEBUILDING
DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT BETWEEN THE UMT AND REGIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENTS
The Congress of the United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Regional Organization (UCLG-MEWA), of which the Union of Municipalities of Turkiye (UMT) is a member, was convened in Konya.
UMT Secretary General Suat Yıldız held bilateral meetings with mayors and representatives from cities in Syria, Lebanon, and Iran, focusing on key topics including “the contribution of inter-city diplomacy and cooperation to regional peace.”
The program featured speeches from Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum; UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Dr. Mehmet Duman; UCLG-MEWA Honorary President Mohamad Saadie; Mayor of Balıkesir Metropolitan Municipality and UCLG Vice President Ahmet Akın; and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay.
Minister Kurum emphasized Turkiye’s substantial experience and expertise in disaster preparedness and post-disaster reconstruction, stating:
“For us, the city is about sharing the centuries-old Turkish-Islamic experience with humanity and carrying it into the future. This understanding guides all the projects we have realized across our 81 provinces, in 453,000 housing units in the earthquake zone, and in the construction of tens of thousands of workplaces and socio-cultural structures.”
UCLG-MEWA Honorary President Mohamad Saadie stressed the continued efforts to uphold human dignity and improve quality of life. He highlighted ongoing work to ensure a dignified life and the establishment of a new government for the resilient people of Palestine. He also thanked Konya Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay for his dedicated efforts to bring stakeholders together not only within the UCLG framework but also on various platforms.
Uğur İbrahim Altay, UCLG Co-President, President of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities, and Mayor of Konya, emphasized the critical role of UCLG-MEWA in representing local governments internationally, fostering cooperation, and generating common solutions to shared challenges.
Altay pointed out that the congress also contributes to strengthening local democracy and promoting diplomacy:
“We will exchange ideas on many agenda-setting topics — from the impact of disasters on agricultural and food systems, to peacebuilding, to post-conflict recovery planning and local development.”
Speaking after the UCLG-MEWA World Council, Executive Bureau, and Committee elections, UMT Secretary General Suat Yıldız noted that the UMT had held meetings with the UCLG-MEWA Secretariat regarding institutional matters. He underscored the union's concerns regarding gender equality and balanced representation across political parties and countries, stressing that these issues had not received adequate attention.
More than 300 local government representatives, experts, and stakeholders from 17 countries are expected to participate in sessions running through Sunday, addressing key themes such as “The Impact of Disasters on Agricultural and Food Systems,” “Post-Conflict Recovery Planning for Local Development,” and “Peacebuilding.”
WHAT IS UCLG-MEWA?
The United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Regional Organization (UCLG-MEWA) is a regional local government union operating in a geography that includes 16 countries — including Turkiye — and represents approximately 400 million people with over 250 direct members. Although originally established in 1987, it assumed its current structure in 2004.
UCLG-MEWA is one of nine regional sections of the UCLG World Organization — the world’s largest local government association — and is headquartered in Istanbul.