The October Board of Directors Meeting of the Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) was held in Konya on October 2, 2025, hosted by Konya Metropolitan Municipality, with the participation of local administrators from six different countries (Azerbaijan, TRNC, Lebanon, Moldova Gagauzia, Uzbekistan, and Türkiye).
The meeting, chaired by TDBB President and Konya Metropolitan Mayor Uğur İbrahim Altay, was attended by TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, members of the TDBB Board of Directors, Malatya Metropolitan Mayor Sami Er, President of the Union of City Municipalities of Azerbaijan Temraz Tagıyev, President of the Union of Turkish Cypriot Municipalities (KTBB) Mahmut Özçınar, President of the Union of Dannieh Municipalities of Lebanon Muhammed Sadieh, Mayor of Samarkand (Uzbekistan) Fazliddin Umarov, Mayor of Karaman Savaş Kalaycı, Mayor of Akdağmadeni (Yozgat) Nezih Yalçın, Mayor of Altınova Yasemin Fazlaca, Mayor of Başiskele (Kocaeli) Mehmet Yasin Özlü, Mayor of Gebze (Kocaeli) Zinnur Büyükgöz, Mayor of Karatay (Konya) Hasan Kılca, Mayor of Meram Mustafa Kavuş, Mayor of Pendik Ahmet Cin, Mayor of Selçuklu Ahmet Pekyatırmacı, Mayor of Şahinbey (Gaziantep) Mehmet Tahmazoğlu, Mayor of Talas (Kayseri) Mustafa Yalçın, Mayor of Ümraniye İsmet Yıldırım, Mayor of Zeytinburnu Ömer Arısoy, Deputy Head of the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia (Moldova) Viktor Petrov, as well as Trabzon Metropolitan Mayor Ahmet Metin Genç, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General Mehmet Duman, and Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (TBB) Secretary General Suat Yıldız.
The meeting continued with a presentation by TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, who provided information about the activities carried out and the agenda since the previous Board of Directors Meeting held on July 30, 2025, followed by discussions on the items on the agenda.
Within this framework, it was decided that TDBB would be represented at the opening ceremony of the “Mahmut Kaşgari Barskani Monument Project,” carried out in cooperation with Bağcılar (Istanbul) Municipality and Jeti-Ögüz (Kyrgyzstan) Municipality. It was also decided that TDBB would be represented at the International Conference on “Current Responsibilities and Development Perspectives of Local Governments: Experiences from Kazakhstan and Different Countries,” organized by Kunaev University in Almaty, Kazakhstan, on October 17, 2025. Support and representation would also be provided for the “Turkish World Water Workshop,” organized by the Academy of Science, Research and Education Foundation in Afyonkarahisar on November 26–28, 2025.
Furthermore, it was decided that Meram (Konya) Municipality would provide financial support for the 2026 annual operational costs of the “In the Footsteps of Evliya Çelebi: Ottoman Monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina Project,” requested by the International University of Sarajevo. Ümraniye Mayor and Board Member İsmet Yıldırım would carry out work on supporting the “Restoration of Küçükanafarta Historical Cemetery Project,” conducted by the Gallipoli Historical Area Presidency of the Battle of Çanakkale.
The Board also decided to provide support for the “17th East Turkistan Brotherhood Gathering” event, held in Istanbul on September 26–29, 2025, organized by the East Turkistan Education and Solidarity Association. It was announced that the 6th International Symposium on Administrative Law and Administrative Jurisdiction, organized by Balıkesir University Rectorate and to be held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, on May 12–15, 2026, would be brought to the attention of the Board of Directors. An expert training program on “Landscape and Lavender Cultivation” for Tatlısu (TRNC) Municipality would be organized in cooperation with Karatay (Konya) Municipality, and work would be carried out regarding “Disaster and Emergency Training” requests in cooperation with Konya Metropolitan Municipality.
The Board of Directors also decided that the next TDBB Board of Directors Meeting would be held in Gaziantep in January 2026, hosted by Şahinbey Municipality, and that the membership applications of Altınova (Yalova) and Gülnar (Mersin) municipalities to TDBB were accepted in accordance with Article 5/c of the statute.
