Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) Kyrgyzstan Member Municipalities Coordination Meeting was held in Bishkek on October 20, 2021, hosted by the Kyrgyzstan Union of Local Authorities.
TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, who was in Kyrgyzstan on the occasion of the openings of the completed projects and the Local Governments National Forum, came together with the newly elected mayors at the coordination meeting. At the meeting, the participants were informed about the activities of TDBB. In addition, the projects carried out by TDBB for Kyrgyzstan were explained and the studies to be carried out in order to improve the cooperation with the newly elected mayors were emphasized.
The meeting was attended by TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, Kyrgyzstan Regional Development State Agency General Manager Elchibek Cantaev, Kyrgyzstan President of Union of Local Authorities and also Mayor of Orlovla Baktibek Çançarov, Kyrgyzstan Union of Local Authorities General Manager Bektur Orozbaev, Kyrgyzstan Union of Local Authorities Deputy General Manager Murat Baydıldaev, Mayor of Batken Imamnazar Burkanov, Mayor of Calal-Abad Ernisbek Ormokov, Mayor of Kant Ulan Maylibaşev, Mayor of Kara-Kol Ermat Cumaev, Mayor of Kara-Köl Almazbek Baltaşev, Mayor of Kyzyl-Kiya Asilbek Matkalıkov, Mayor of Maylı-Suu Nurlanbek Umarov, Mayor of Cholpon-Ata Berdibek Imanbekov, Mayor of Talas Askar Şabdanov, Mayor of Taş-Kömür Nurlan Doulbekov, Mayor of Özgen Nodirbek Karimov, Mayor of Isfana Chingizbek Risov, Mayor of Aydarken Altınbek Murzacanov, Mayor of Kara-Suu Adil Lolobaev, Deputy Mayor of Narin Mayrambek Cunuşov, Deputy Mayor of Nookat Daniyar Tacibaev, Deputy Mayor of Sülüktü Bavabek Taşev, Kadamcay Council Head Azizbek Abdırazakov and TDBB Foreign Relations Expert Mairam Baigonusheva.
TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak who started his opening speech by congratulating the newly elected mayors in Kyrgyzstan said: “Kyrgyzstan is one of the member countries with which TDBB cooperates most actively. Kyrgyzstan is also represented on the Administrative Board of TDBB. TDBB has implemented many projects in Kyrgyzstan since its establishment. Only in the last 5 years, around $ 500 thousand projects have been realized. We are ready to continue close cooperation with Kyrgyzstan municipalities and local governments. We would like to meet and listen to you at this meeting today. I want you to know that your suggestions and evaluations are valuable to us. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the 30th anniversary of the independence of Kyrgyzstan and the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Union of Local Authorities.
Afterwards, the Mayors who participated in the meeting took the floor and expressed their opinions and suggestions. In this context:
Mayor of Kara-Köl Almazbek Baltaşev said, “Our city is a city where hydroelectricity production is very intense. The income source of our city, which has a population of 26 thousand, comes from the hydroelectric sector. Kyrgyzstan’s largest hydroelectric power plants such as Kambarata and Toktogul are located in our city. We do not have any sister cities from Turkey. Therefore, we would like your support in this area.”
Mayor of Aydarken Altınbek Murzacanov said, “Aydarken is a mountainous city in the province of Batken. It is located at an altitude of 2,000 meters above sea level. 12 thousand population of the city is consisted of % 65 Kyrgyz, % 30 Tajiks and % 5 other peoples 5 %. Our city is an industrial city that became famous to the world for its mercury production during the Soviet period. Since there is no production today, the unemployment rate has increased in Aydarken in recent years. We do not have any sister cities in Turkey”.
Mayor of Taş-Kömür Nurlan Doulbekov said, “The city of Taş-Kömür, with a population of 44 thousand, is a city with a very high potential, located on the main transportation roads, providing the opportunity to reach Uzbekistan and then to Europe by rail. Also, the Narın river passes through our city. There is no shortage of energy in the city, which has 3 hydroelectric power plants. Our city, which is rich in underground resources, has no sister cities. In this context, we are ready to find a sister city and cooperate.”
Mayor of Maylı-Suu Nurlanbek Umarov said, “Our city with a population of 26 thousand is a city known for its light bulb production factories at the provincial level. Modern factories were established in the production of light bulbs. We do not have any sister cities from Turkey”.
Mayor of Calal-Abad Ernisbek Ormokov said, The city of Calal-Abad is the third largest city in the country. It has a population of 120 thousand. In 2014-2015, we established sister city relations with the Turkish city of Tarsus and named a street in our city as Tarsus. Our sister city gifted a bakery to our municipality, and they allowed 3 employees to take courses in Turkey to work in this bakery. In 2021, we signed a goodwill agreement with the city of Hatay. We are planning a visit to Hatay in December. If there are municipalities that want to be sister cities, we are always ready to establish relations of friendship and brotherhood.
Mayor of Orlovka Baktibek Çançarov said, We came to Turkey with a delegation in 2019. I am happy to meet you again in Kyrgyzstan. We would like to work closely with TDBB from now on. The city of Orlovka is one of the smallest cities in our country. In Soviet times, there were chemical and metallurgical facilities in the city, today there are gold factories. We do not have any sister cities”.
Mayor of Kara-Kol Ermat Cumaev said, The population of the city of Kara-Kol is 84 thousand people. We are brothers with Turkey’s Gebze and Keçiören Municipalities. We organize experience sharing programs with Keçiören Municipality. It can be said that our relations with Keçiören are lively. We would like to revive our relations with the city of Gebze. However, we received a request from Muş Municipality to establish a sister city relationship. Our discussions on this are ongoing. We also wrote to TDBB about the renewal of Hüseyin Karasaev Park in our city. We look forward to your support in this area as well.”
Mayor of Cholpon-Ata Berdibek Imanbekov said, “Cholpon-Ata city is one of the most touristic cities of Isık-Göl. Our population is 12 thousand. We have negotiated with Pendik Municipality to establish a sister city relationship, but the official process has not been completed yet. Since Çolpan Ata is a city with a high potential in the field of tourism, we would like to be a sister city with a touristic city from Turkey and benefit from its experiences.”
Mayor of Kant Ulan Maylibaşev said, “The city of Kant is a city 20 km away from Bishkek. Officially, our population is 22 thousand. There are many production factories in our city. Therefore, we would like to cooperate with you in this field. We do not have a sister city in Turkey, and we expect your support in finding a sister city.
Mayor of Talas Askar Shabdanov said, Officially, our population is 40 thousand. We have sister city relations with Talas (Kayseri) and Iznik (Bursa) in Turkey. We are trying to revive these relations and we expect your support in this regard.
Kadamcay Parliament Speaker Azizbek Abdırazakov said, “The city of Kadamcay was founded in 2012. We have 20 thousand inhabitants. The world-famous antimony mine is extracted and processed in our country. However, since the factory’s business has gone bad recently, investors from Turkey started to employ them. We also want to have a sister city from Turkey”.
Deputy Mayor of Sülüktü Bavabek Taşev said, “Our city has a history of 150 years. It was once known as the coal center of Central Asia. Our main production is coal and white sand. Annually, 270-300 thousand tons of coal mine and 10-20 thousand tons of white sand are mined. We have 20 thousand inhabitants. We are always ready to cooperate with you.
Mayor of Batken Imamnazar Burkanov said, Our city with a population of 30 thousand and famous for its apricot production became a sister city with Malatya city of Turkey in 2014. But it cannot be said that our relations are very active. On October 14 of this year, the forum titled The development of Batken is the development of the country was held. The Chairman of Malatya Chamber of Commerce and Industry attended this forum and an agreement was made on the processing of agricultural products. During his visit to Batken in August 2021, the Turkish Ambassador to Bishkek said that he would help with the renovation of the central stadium. We are waiting for him. I am very pleased to meet you”.
Deputy Mayor of Narın Mayrambek Cunuşov said, “The city of Narın is a sister city with the cities of Etimesgut (Ankara) and Kastamonu in Turkey. In 2018, an agreement was made within the scope of the Etimesgut Municipality Delegation’s visit to the city of Narın, and a children’s nursery for 100 people is being built. 70% of the nursery has been completed and it is planned to be opened for use in December 2021. The issue of renovating the Elma Park was discussed with Kastamonu Municipality. This topic has been suspended due to the pandemic. We ask you to help revive it.
Mayor of Isfana Mayor Chingizbek Rysov said, The city of Isfana, located 1,100 km from the capital Bishkek, is considered the farthest city in the country. Its population is over 32 thousand. It is an important city in the field of tourism and mining. Our most important problem is our border problem with neighboring Tajikistan. We have had no contact with our Turkish brothers until today. We would like to be a sister city with cities in Turkey in order to develop cooperation in the field of tourism and mining.”
Deputy Mayor of Nookat Daniyar Tacibaev said, “There were previous talks with Turkey’s Şanlıurfa Municipality on brotherhood, but no official protocol was signed. Our city was founded in 2003 and we have a population of 15 thousand. We wish to establish and revitalize fraternal relations with Turkey. It is important for us to benefit from the experience of Turkey.”
Mayor of Özgen Nodirbek Karimov said, “The city of Özgen is a sister city with Toroslar Municipality from Turkey. However, it can be said that the relations have weakened a little lately. We would like to revive this relationship and want the experts in our municipality to gain experience from the municipalities in Turkey.”
Mayor of Kara-Suu Adil Lolobaev said, “We were in Turkey in November 2020 to sign a sister city protocol with Sakarya’s Kara-Suu city under the coordination of TDBB. We are ready to increase our cooperation.”
Mayor of Kızıl-Kıya Asilbek Matkalıko said, “A goodwill protocol was signed with the cities of Hatay and Güneyyurt in Turkey, but the official process has not been completed.”
TDBB Kyrgyzstan member Municipalities coordination meeting ended with a family photo shoot in memory of the day.
