Meeting of Representatives of Asian Mayors Forum 2009

In preparation for the second meeting of the Asian Mayors Forum (AMF) to be held in 2010 and hosted by one of the Asian countries, AMF Secretariat in Tehran hosted the Meeting of the Representatives of Asian Mayors Forum on 2-4th of December 2009. At this meeting, the representatives deliberated on reviewing of the preliminary draft charter of the Forum. A preliminary draft of this charter has been prepared by urban management and foreign relations experts in Tehran. During the meeting in Tehran, the draft was reviewed and deliberated by representatives from Asian mayors. The finalized draft will be presented for approval to the second meeting of AMF in 2010 and, following its ratification, become the official charter of AMF. The same meeting will also elect the governing structures of the Forum.

The participants also drafted the agenda items for the second meeting of AMF in 2010, which will focus on the impact of the global economic and financial crisis at local level. The active input and involvement of Asian delegations has made this meeting a very successful event. The delegation of the Union of Municipalities of Marmara has actively contributed to the preparation of charter of the AMF and offered to secretariat of AMF to host the 2nd meeting of Asian mayors in Istanbul. As result of the deliberations, it has been decided to an ad hoc working group to work on the draft charter, composed of four sides: UMM (Turkey), Manama Municipality (Bahrain), Kashiwazaki Municipality (Japan) and AMF Secretariat in Tehran. The group will develop the charter in the upcoming dates and to present it to the AMF gathering in 2010. The UMM representatives also proposed to establish a rotating co-presidency for the future AMF structure.

The proposal by UMM to host the 2nd meeting of AMF in Istanbul in October 2010 has been warmly welcomed and unanimously accepted by participants. This proposal has an important significance, as in 2010 Istanbul will become the Cultural Capital of Europe and will host the Asian Mayors Forum, thus reflecting the unique status of Istanbul as a bridge between Europe and Asia.

The Tehran meeting gathered mayors and their representatives as well as local government experts from Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India, Philippines, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Indonesia, Japan, Palestine and Vietnam. The Turkish side attended the event with a large delegation: Mr. Murat Aydın, Vice-President of UMM and Mayor of Zeyinburnu, Mr. Lokman Çağrıcı, Chairman of the EU & International Relations Commission of UMM Assembly and Mayor of Bağcılar, Mr. Bülent Hamdi Cingil, Member of the EU & International Relations Commission of UMM Assembly and Mayor of Yenişehir, Mr. Recep Bozlağan, Secretary General of UMM, Mr. Züver Çetinkaya, Director of the Union Secretariat, Mr. Murat Daoudov, Director of the EU & International Relations Centre of UMM, Mr. İsmail Yaşar, General Manager of Marmara Belde Yapım Company, Mr. İskender Güneş, External Relations Officer at UMM and Mr. Masum Sun, Director of External Relations of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.

Visit to Isfahan Municipality

After the AMF meeting in Tehran, the delegation of UMM visited the historical city of Isfahan and had meeting with the Isfahan Municipality. The officials of the municipality explained to Turkish mayors their new projects and plans for the city, and especially for the regeneration of old districts. The main focus point of the municipal projects is to preserve the historical heritage while renovating and modernising the city according to new development plans. UMM's officials invited the representatives of the Isfahan Municipality to Turkey to see similar efforts of Turkish counterparts and also to discover local government system after the recent reforms.

Source: http://www.marmara.gov.tr/newsdetail.aspx?newsId=678