Organized in cooperation with the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB), the Union of Azerbaijan City Municipalities and the Union of Turkish Cypriot Municipalities, the “Azerbaijan – TRNC Local Governments Experience Sharing Program” was held via video conference on December 7, 2023.
TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, Union of Cyprus Turkish Municipalities and Güzelyurt Mayor Mahmut Özçınar from TRNC, Girne Mayor Murat Şenkul, Gönyeli-Alayköy Mayor Hüseyin Amcaoğlu and Azerbaijan City Municipalities Union President Tamraz Tagıyev from Azerbaijan attended the video conference. 30 local government representatives attended.
In his speech at the meeting, TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak said, “As you all know, TDBB is an international local government organization that has been around for 20 years. Currently, cooperation is being carried out with municipalities from 30 different countries. Among these 30 countries, Azerbaijan is one of the countries we work most closely with and we are very pleased with it. Likewise, we have a very strong relationship with the Turkish Cypriot Municipalities. One of the main activities carried out by TDBB is experience sharing programs. We try to hold these programs, sometimes face to face and sometimes via video conferencing. As TDBB, we want our members to meet and cooperate not only with the municipalities in Turkey but also with the municipalities of other countries. Today’s meeting will be one of the good examples of this. Mayors of municipalities in Azerbaijan and TRNC will exchange views and share their experiences. A similar conference will be held with the Mayors of Bosnia and Herzegovina on 14 December 2023. We are also planning mutual country visits in 2024. TDBB is always ready to cooperate with the municipalities of the regions liberated from occupation in Karabakh. There are many municipalities that want to become sister cities with the municipalities in the Karabakh region. Our work on these continues. I would like to thank both Azerbaijani and Turkish Cypriot Municipalities for contributing to the realization of this meeting,” he said.
Tamraz Tagıyev, President of the Union of Azerbaijan City Municipalities, said: “I greet you all with love and respect. Today we came together for an important program. We will share our experiences. Today, this program is carried out thanks to TDBB. This reveals the importance of TDBB. Turkey’s contribution to the victory in Karabakh is great. We see that TDBB has initiated a great work for the development of municipalities in Karabakh. I would like to thank everyone who made this meeting possible,” he said.
President of the Union of Turkish Cypriot Municipalities, Mahmut Özçınar, started his speech by greeting all friends in Azerbaijan and pointed out that TRNC is a brother country with Azerbaijan, good relations have been developed with Azerbaijan, and that this video conference held today is a very special day in terms of expanding relations. Expressing his belief that sharing experience and knowledge in today’s meeting will contribute a lot to all municipalities, nationally and internationally, Özçınar said that they have a desire to see the local government changes in Azerbaijan and the successful work they have achieved. Özçınar, who also gave information about the structure and functioning of TRNC local governments in his speech, reminded that the number of municipalities was reduced from 28 to 18 with the local government reform in 2022, and gave information to the participants about the income structures of local governments.
Following the opening speeches, the Mayors of Azerbaijan and TRNC shared information on the structure and functioning of local governments in the video conference and answered the questions of Azerbaijani Local Administrators.
For Conference Video, see: