The Union of Turkish World Municipalities (TDBB) was elected to the United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA) Board of Directors and the UCLG World Council during the UCLG-MEWA Congress held in Konya on October 3–5, 2025.
The opening session of the Congress was attended by the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, Governor of Konya İbrahim Akın, Members of Parliament Mehmet Baykan, Ziya Altunyaldız, Selman Özboyacı, Mustafa Hakan Özer, and Hasan Ekici, TDBB President and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay, TDBB Secretary General Fahri Solak, as well as local government representatives, experts, and institutional delegates from regional countries.
The UCLG-MEWA Congress, hosted by the Konya Metropolitan Municipality, brought together more than 300 participants, including local government representatives, experts, and stakeholders from 17 countries.
On the first day of the program, organized in cooperation between UCLG-MEWA and Konya Metropolitan Municipality, the General Assembly sessions were held and related committees were elected. On the second day, sessions focused on topics such as the impact of disasters on agriculture and food systems, post-conflict recovery planning in local development, and peacebuilding. The aim was to contribute to the development of strategic policy recommendations and sustainable collaborations that will shape the future of cities.
Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum emphasized that Türkiye possesses significant experience and knowledge in disaster preparedness and post-disaster reconstruction, stating: “For us, the city represents sharing the centuries-old Turkish-Islamic experience with humanity and carrying it into the future. In every project we implement across all 81 provinces, in our 453,000 housing units in earthquake zones, in thousands of workplaces, and in all of our social and cultural facilities, we act with this understanding – and we will continue to do so”.
UCLG President, TDBB President, and Mayor of Konya Metropolitan Municipality Uğur İbrahim Altay highlighted that UCLG-MEWA serves as an essential platform for representing local governments internationally, fostering cooperation, and developing joint solutions to shared challenges.
Altay stated, “With the vote we will hold today, we will once again entrust the presidency to our Mayor of Al-Khalil, thus proving how strongly UCLG-MEWA stands with the Palestinian cause. Even though he is not among us physically and remains imprisoned, we believe he represents us spiritually, and through this act, we reaffirm our unwavering support for Palestine.”
Altay also underlined that the Congress contributes to strengthening local democracy and expanding diplomatic engagement, adding, “We will exchange views on many key issues that will shape our agenda – from the effects of disasters on agricultural and food systems to peacebuilding, and from post-conflict recovery processes to local development”.
