Union of Turkish World Municipalities’ (TDBB) members, Turkistan Municipality of Kazakhstan and Üsküdar and Zeytinburnu Municipalities of Turkey signed a Sister City protocol under the coordination of TDBB.
The Turkistan delegation, who came to Turkey from Kazakstan, was included by Mayor of Turkistan Nurbol Turashbekov, Municipal Council Member Tazhibek Musaev, Organization Department Inspector Olzhas Bulegenov, Turkistan Music and Drama Theater Director Ainur Kopbasarova, Deputy Theater Director Asem Aldibekova and Head of Theater and Literature Department Şınar Omarova.
At the ceremony held in Üsküdar on Monday, December 20, 2021, a sister city protocol was signed between Üsküdar Municipality and Turkistan Municipality. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mayor of Üsküdar Hilmi Türkmen said, “We are ready for any kind of cooperation with Turkistan. With the signature we signed today, we aim to exchange information and experience with Turkistan in the fields of culture, tourism, urban and historical heritage protection.” After the protocol, the delegation toured the historical and touristic places of Üsküdar.
On Tuesday, December 21, 2021, Zeytinburnu and Turkistan Municipality became sister cities with the protocol signed in Zeytinburnu Municipality. Speaking after the signing ceremony, Mayor of Zeytinburnu Ömer Arısoy said, “As Zeytinburnu Municipality, we always wish to be together with our Kazakhstani brothers. We are people of common culture. We do not see the geography of Central Asia as separate from ourselves. As Zeytinburnu Municipality, we are ready to cooperate with Turkistan in every field. I hope that we will realize many joint projects. With this brotherhood protocol, our ties will become even stronger. The signatures are good for all of us”.
After the ceremony, the delegation visited Kazlıçeşme Culture and Art Center and the Family, Women’s Support and Disabled Center (AKDEM) in Zeytinburnu.
Turkistan Delegation Visited TDBB and Beşiktaş Municipality
Turkistan Municipality delegation met with Secretary General Fahri Solak at TDBB headquarters on Wednesday, December 22, 2021, within the scope of Turkey Program. During the visit, the sister city protocols signed with Üsküdar and Zeytinburnu Municipalities and joint projects and cooperation opportunities within this framework were evaluated.
Turkistan Mayor Turashbekov, who stated that with the coordination undertaken by TDBB, correspondence with Üsküdar and Zeytinburnu Municipalities was carried out quickly and the results were obtained in a short time and added, “We signed sister city protocols with Üsküdar and Zeytinburnu Municipalities in two days. From now on, it is on the agenda to be a sister city with Beşiktaş Municipality. However, we want sister city protocols not to remain on paper, but to be alive by realizing concrete projects. We would like to invite our sister cities to Turkistan to celebrate Nawruz in March 2022. With the transition of Turkistan to the provincial status, it has shown great development and change with the investments made in the last 3 years. In this context, we would like to state that we are open to cooperation in every field from tourism to city management.”
Solak, Secretary General of TDBB, said, “When the delegation that came to Turkey from Turkistan in November stated that they wanted to be a sister city with suitable municipalities from Turkey, we immediately started working as TDBB and we got results in a short time. We are also ready to cooperate in sharing experience. One of the aims of the establishment of the Union is to improve the cooperation of friendly and brotherly countries in the field of local government. Experience sharing programs are at the forefront of the regular activities of the Union. The place of Turkish Republics is different for us. Kazakhstan is one of the countries we work closely with. We are ready to further strengthen cooperation with Kazakhstan in every field. Thank you for your visit to our Union.”
On the last day of the program, the delegation visited Mayor of Beşiktaş Rıza Akpolat in his office. During the visit, joint projects and cooperation opportunities between the two municipalities were evaluated. In addition, the issue of sisterhood between Beşiktaş Municipality and Turkistan Municipality was brought up in the meeting. After the visit, the delegation visited Beşiktaş Municipality’s Halk Market/People’s Store project and got information about it.
25.12 2021
