The Karatay Municipality delegation, a member of the Board of Directors of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB), visited its sister city, Sauran in Kazakhstan, on May 24, 2025.
The delegation included Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca, TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, Karatay Municipal Council Members Mevlüt Kanat and Ömer Büyükgöker, Karatay Deputy Mayor Mustafa Yaylacı, TDBB Foreign Relations Specialist Mairam Baigonusheva, and Karatay Municipality Chief of Staff Cihat Kanyılmaz. Representing Sauran were Sauran Mayor Maksat Tangatarov, Deputy Mayor Bakytzhan Bukebaev, council members Baymakhan Süleymanov and Nursultan Abdullaev, as well as other relevant officials.
During the meeting held as part of the visit, discussions were conducted between the two delegations, focusing on cooperation and potential joint projects within the framework of the sister city relationship.
In the meeting, Sauran Mayor Maksat Tangatarov stated that Sauran, a district of the historic Turkistan province, consists of 36 villages, with 80 % of the population engaged in agriculture. He noted their efforts to encourage investment in industry and production, their interest in benefiting from Turkey’s experience in these areas, and their desire to organize training programs for municipal staff as well as student exchanges through youth camps.
Karatay Mayor Hasan Kılca expressed their willingness to cooperate on these matters and said: “We continue to strengthen the cooperation and bonds of brotherhood between our municipalities on the lands of our ancestors. The municipalities of Kazakhstan’s Sauran and our own Karatay are sister cities. On this occasion, we conducted several visits and held inter-delegation meetings. I would like to thank my dear friend, Sauran Mayor Maksat Tangatarov, for his hospitality. I believe the exchange of ideas we had in various fields will make meaningful contributions to the unity between our countries and municipalities. As part of our visit to Kazakhstan, we also visited Ahmet Yesevi University, where we met with Rector Dr. Janar Temirbekova and the university administration. We received information about the university’s ongoing work and I extend my congratulations to the esteemed rector and her team. As Karatay Municipality, we will continue our efforts to strengthen our ties with our ancestral lands.”
The visit concluded with the delegation touring the municipal projects of Sauran and historical sites in the Turkistan region.
Karatay and Sauran Municipalities had signed the sister city protocol in a ceremony held in Konya on November 20, 2024, under the coordination of the TDBB.
