Marmara's Delegation visits Rabat and Casa, attends Africities Summit

The delegation of the Union of Municipalities of Marmara, lead by President Recep Altepe, mayor of Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, realised official visit to Morocco, visiting the municipalities of Rabat and Casablanca and attending the 5th Africities Summit in Marrakech.

Marmara's delegation first visited the municipality of the Moroccan capital, Rabat, where they were met by Mayor Fathallah Oualalou. Discussing the ways of cooperation between the local authorities of both countries, the parties revealed that the main subject of common interest is the field of preservation of historical heritage, development of cultural activities and cultural tourism. Bursa and Rabat have much in common in this field, as both have long and rich history. Bursa has served as first capital of the Ottoman State, while Rabat is the capital city of the Kingdom of Morocco. Mayor Altepe has been involved for long time in the preservation and rehabilitation of historical heritage of Bursa, while Rabat Municipality is cooperating with various foreign cities to transmit their experience in the field.

Following the official meeting, Bursa and Rabat mayors signed a cooperation agreement aiming at developing a long lasting cooperation in the historical and cultural fields.

The meeting with the Municipality of Casablanca also focused on the heritage issues. Mr Muhammed Sajid, Mayor of Casablanca, welcomed the delegation of UMM and expressed his wish to foster partnership relations with Turkish cities, especially with Istanbul, with which Casablanca is about to sign a cooperation agreement too.

Africities Summit Addressed by Mayor of Istanbul

The 5th Edition of the Pan-African Local Government Days, "AFRICITIES", was held in Marrakech, Kingdom of Morocco, from 16 to 20 December 2009, under the High Patronage of His Majesty Mohammed VI, King of Morocco. The Central theme of the Marrakech Africities Summit is: "African Regional and Local Governments' Response to the Global crisis: promotion sustainable local development and employment."

Kadir Topbaş, mayor of Istanbul and co-President of United Cities and Local Governments (ULCG), addressed the assembly in the opening session. Coming directly from the Copenhagen Climate Conference, he stressed the issues of sustainable development and solidarity among local authorities. Speaking also on behalf of Turkish municipalities, he said that these will be more and more present in Africa in the field of decentralised cooperation.

At the end of the opening session, Mayors of Istanbul and Casablanca also signed their cooperation agreement.

The delegation of Marmara visited the CIEXPO exposition organised in the framework of the summit and established contacts with various local authorities from throughout Africa.

Source: http://www.marmara.gov.tr/newsdetail.aspx?newsId=714

Source: http://www.marmara.gov.tr/newsdetail.aspx?newsId=704