Fatma Şahin, President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UMT), attended the United Nations Mayors Forum online. Şahin touched on topics such as transportation, green energy and inclusiveness.
In her speech at the meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, Şahin stated that she was invited to the OECD Champion Cities Initiative and the London Green Finance Conference. President Şahin said, “When I was elected mayor in 2014, we created an inclusive Gaziantep model without discrimination for the victims of the civil war in Syria, just like in Ukraine today."
Noting that they have concluded the work they started in 2017 on sustainable development and smart transportation, Şahin also gave information about the projects to be implemented in transportation for the new period in Gaziantep.
President Şahin said that the Paris Climate Agreement was signed by the Turkish government, the name of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization was changed and the climate and water law was prepared accordingly. Şahin said, “As Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, we have made all our plans for sustainable development. We have seen how important it is to be self-sufficient in this geography. We have made great efforts to become a resilient and resilient city. I am also the president of the UMT. We invited all mayors in Türkiye to the idea and project competitions we launched. We rewarded them and provided financial support. This kind of alternative financial support should be given to municipalities very strongly.”