UCLG Executive Bureau and World Council,and UCLG Committees and Working Groups Meetings Took Place in Haikou 9.12.2014

UCLG Executive Bureau and World Council, and UCLG Committees and Working Groups meetings took place in Haikou, China on 23-26 November 2014. The main headings of the international global agenda for local and regional leaders were discussed at the meetings which took place 4 days.

Dr. Kadir TOPBAŞ, Mayor of Istanbul and President of UCLG attended with a video message to the UCLG World Council which gathered more than 400 local and regional governments and their partners from 49 countries. Mr. President in the video message expressed his sincere thanks to the host city and Chinese People Association for Friendship for the contributions to the preparations of the meeting.

With the decision of World Council, the Union of Municipalities of Turkey has become a member of UCLG-MEWA Financial Management Committee. Moreover, several membership applications in different regional sections were approved and demands of Palestinian municipalities for the exemption of annual membership fees were accepted by the World Council. UCLG World Council members ratified UCLG activity programme and budget by unanimous vote. In the meeting, Gültan KIŞANAK, Mayor of Diyarbakır and Co-President of UCLG-MEWA, presented the recent activities and future plans of UCLG-MEWA to the members of the World Council.

Executive Bureau and General Assembly meetings of Asian Mayors Forum also took place in parallel with UCLG Executive Bureau and World Council in Haikou. Mr. Mehmet DUMAN, Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA, attended both meetings on behalf of UCLG-MEWA. In the General Assembly of Asian Mayors Forum, it was decided that the next meeting of General Assembly would take place in Gaziantep/Turkey.

After the UCLG World Council and Asian Mayors Forum General Assembly meetings, both organizations’ members travelled to Guangzhou, China in order to participate in the Guangzhou International Urban Innovation Conference. Mehmet DUMAN, Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA and Salim KORKMAZ, Coordinator of Relations with International Organizations attended the opening ceremony of the conference.

On the occasion of the meetings in Haikou, UCLG-MEWA members and other representative of the other sections of UCLG received invitation letters to the meeting of UCLG-MEWA Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting and Smart Cities and Innovation Summit which will be held in Adana, Turkey on 19-20 December 2014.