UCLG-MEWA: Our approved Syria appointment was cancelled 6 hours later

The visit that the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UCLG-MEWA) intended to make to Syria was cancelled hours after it had been approved. The first statement on the matter was made by Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu. 

Following İmamoğlu, a statement also came from the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye. 

"Unfortunately, the visit could not be realized after the Syrian authorities cancelled the appointments they had previously approved 6 hours later", the full statement, which included these words, is as follows: 

"To the Attention of the Valued Public,

The Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (UCLG-MEWA) is the only national-level municipal union in our country, established in 1945, of which all municipalities in our country are natural members. Within the framework of the duties determined by the Local Administration Unions Law No. 5355 and the Union Charter, UCLG-MEWA has the authority to represent our municipalities domestically and abroad.

The Union works decisively to contribute to the development of our municipalities, produce solutions to their problems, and support them in becoming effective actors in the international arena; to share their knowledge and experience at national and international levels, to facilitate their access to international networks; and to lead national-international cooperation projects.

In today's world, the fact that global problems are becoming increasingly complex and multi-dimensional has made local diplomacy tools and solutions, which originate from our municipalities, more important than ever. These approaches, which take concrete form through methods such as sister city relations, cooperation protocols, joint initiatives, and lobbying activities, pave the way for the effective use and visibility of the soft power of local governments in the international arena.

In this context, it has become an established custom and duty, rather than an exception, for UCLG-MEWA to stand out as an institution that supports our national foreign policy and increases our country's representative power in international relations. With this mission it has undertaken, UCLG-MEWA plays an important role both in protecting our national interests and in increasing Türkiye's reputation and effectiveness in the international arena.

The strong relations established by our local governments in vast geographies such as the Balkans, Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and the Far East, as in many regions of the world, are a result of the work carried out by UCLG-MEWA in harmony with national foreign policy. The awareness and recognition that UCLG-MEWA has gained worldwide is also a result of Türkiye carrying its local government experience to the international arena.

With the relations established in a wide spectrum ranging from Somalia to Palestine, and from Indonesia to Chile, UCLG-MEWA successfully represents our country in international platforms while actively using local diplomacy tools and making significant contributions to our country.

The conflicts that have been ongoing for many years in our neighbor Syria have caused great damage to local services, as in every field. The absence of a local government union in Syria and the lack of capacity of local governments create a significant gap in the country's reconstruction process.

Within the framework of its international duties, UCLG-MEWA aimed to take a series of initiatives to guide the improvement of local services, the establishment of a local government union, and the encouragement of the union's membership in international institutions in order to fill this gap and contribute to the local government structure to be rebuilt in Syria.

UCLG-MEWA's experience will bring a great gain in terms of both raising the standards of local services in Syria and ensuring the economic and social stability of the region. This will also make a significant contribution to our country's reaching a stronger position in international initiatives and to the support of our national foreign policy.

UCLG-MEWA planned a delegation visit to Syria consisting of administrators and experts in order to eliminate the destructive effects of long-term conflicts in the region on local governments, contribute to the reconstruction process, and share Türkiye's local government experience in a way that will serve regional stability.

'UCLG-MEWA'S INITIATIVE IS EXTREMELY NATURAL AND NECESSARY'

With this visit, it was aimed to achieve important goals such as opening channels of cooperation between local governments, identifying needs on-site, re-establishing sister city relations between Turkish and Syrian municipalities that have had examples in the past, and establishing new sister city relations.

At a time when the missions of many countries are visiting Syria one by one, and Türkiye's various initiatives are reflected as a success factor in introducing the new Syrian administration to the world, UCLG-MEWA's effort to establish a channel of cooperation in the field of local government by contacting Syrian authorities is an extremely natural and necessary initiative. 

In this context, UCLG-MEWA completed all necessary preparations, informed our Ministry of Foreign Affairs through official correspondence, and created the visit plan in line with the appointments made with the Syrian authorities. However, unfortunately, the visit could not be realized after the Syrian authorities cancelled the appointments they had previously approved 6 hours later. Thus, UCLG-MEWA's goals of developing cooperation and solidarity between local governments, which it wanted to carry out in harmony with our country's foreign policy, were unfortunately interrupted. Yet, the planned visit would have supported Türkiye's leading role in ensuring regional stability with a complementary diplomacy at the local level.

At a time when various countries are trying to be effective in the region by establishing contact with Syrian authorities, we would like to underline that the purpose of this initiative by UCLG-MEWA is to contribute to increasing Türkiye's effectiveness.

As UCLG-MEWA, we emphasize once again that we will continue to pursue our work with determination for our national interests and the strengthening of our local governments.

Without compromising our mission of contributing to regional and global peace through local diplomacy, we will continue to act alongside our state and in accordance with our national interests. We leave the importance and sensitivity of this process to the appreciation of our people."