The \u201cMu\u011fla City Diplomacy and International Projects Meeting of Metropolitan Municipalities,\u201d organized by Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality, was held in Akyaka on 25\u201326 October 2025.<\/p>\n
The two-day meeting addressed topics such as strengthening international cooperation among metropolitan municipalities, new directions in city diplomacy, and strategies for local governments to access global funding sources.<\/p>\n
Representatives from the relevant departments of the metropolitan municipalities of Ankara, Antalya, Bal\u0131kesir, Bursa, Denizli, Erzurum, Eski\u015fehir, \u0130stanbul, \u0130zmir, Kahramanmara\u015f, Malatya, Manisa, Mersin, and \u015eanl\u0131urfa attended the meeting. Officials from Mu\u011fla S\u0131tk\u0131 Ko\u00e7man University, the \u0130zmir Representation Office of the Directorate for EU Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MUSK\u0130 (Mu\u011fla Water and Sewerage Administration), and the municipalities of Bodrum, Fethiye, Kavakl\u0131dere, K\u00f6yce\u011fiz, Marmaris, and Mente\u015fe also participated.<\/p>\n
New Perspectives in City Diplomacy Discussed<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n The first day of the meeting began with sessions titled \u201cRedefining Diplomacy in the 21st Century: City Diplomacy and The Importance of City Diplomacy,\u201d \u201cThe Role of International Relations Units in Local Governments and Strategies for International Cooperation,\u201d and \u201cThe Concept of Soft Power and Public Diplomacy in International Relations.\u201d<\/p>\n On the second day, interactive presentations were held on \u201cFunding Opportunities for Local Governments\u201d and \u201cAccess to Domestic and Foreign Financing in Local Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n Kabasakal: \u201cWe Are Very Glad to Be in Mu\u011fla and to Benefit from Shared Experience\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n In his speech, Ramazan Kabasakal, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations of Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, shared his insights: \u201cIn this program, cities like Ankara, which have long-established Departments of Foreign Relations, share their experience with newly formed ones. Mu\u011fla is truly one of the world\u2019s most significant provinces in terms of tourism. We can see that, under the leadership of Mayor Ahmet Aras, great progress has been made in the field of diplomacy. We are very pleased to be in Mu\u011fla and to benefit from these experiences. Thank you very much.\u201d<\/p>\n B\u00fcy\u00fcksa\u011fnak: \u201cOur Main Goal Is to Define How to Promote Our Country and Cities on the International Stage\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Barbaros B\u00fcy\u00fcksa\u011fnak, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, stated: \u201cThrough these programs, we have the opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with the heads of foreign relations departments from other provinces. We extend our sincere thanks to Mayor Ahmet Aras for organizing this event. Our main goal here is to determine how we can best promote our country and our cities on the international stage. As someone coming from Istanbul \u2014 a city known and loved by everyone \u2014 it is very valuable for us to share our experiences.\u201d<\/p>\n Ambassador (Ret.) Turan: \u201cMayor Ahmet Aras Is a Leader on the International Stage\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Mustafa Osman Turan, Retired Ambassador and Foreign Relations Advisor to the Mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, stated: \u201cWe are holding the third edition of this program in Mu\u011fla, following the first one in Istanbul. Mu\u011fla is already carrying out remarkable work. Mayor Ahmet Aras is a leader with an international profile, promoting Mu\u011fla\u2019s values abroad with great success. As a result, Mu\u011fla has become a pioneering city not only in T\u00fcrkiye but also on the international stage. Therefore, I would like to congratulate Mu\u011fla.\u201d<\/p>\n Ayaz: \u201cWe Are Motivated by Mayor Ahmet Aras\u2019s Vision of \u2018World City Mu\u011fla\u2019\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Erhan Ayaz, Advisor to the Mayor of Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality, stated: \u201cIn our program, we are hosting representatives from 14 metropolitan municipalities across T\u00fcrkiye, along with their respective district municipalities. Since Mayor Ahmet Aras took office, Mu\u011fla has played a very active role in this field. The most inspiring element of these efforts is our Mayor\u2019s vision of \u2018World City Mu\u011fla.\u2019 We continue our work in line with this vision.\u201d<\/p>\n Dengiz: \u201cWe Represent Mu\u011fla in Every Event We Take Part In\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Celal Cem Dengiz, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations of Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality, stated: \u201cOur main goal in this program is to bring together the most successful examples set by foreign relations departments across T\u00fcrkiye and to benefit from shared experiences. Although we are local governments, we represent our country in every international event we participate in. The \u2018World City Mu\u011fla\u2019 vision of our Mayor consists of two key pillars: the first is to promote Mu\u011fla to the world, and the second is to bring the best global practices to Mu\u011fla.\u201d<\/p>\n Secretary General Y\u0131lmaz: \u201cOur Goal Is to Carry Mu\u011fla into the Future through Strong Partnerships Extending from the Local to the Global\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Tayfun Y\u0131lmaz, Secretary General of Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality, stated: \u201cOur goal is clear: to carry Mu\u011fla\u2019s nature, culture, and people into the future through strong partnerships that extend from the local to the global. I would like to thank all stakeholders who contributed to this productive gathering. We will continue our work guided by the principles of transparency, merit, and public benefit.\u201d<\/p>\n Mayor Aras: \u201cWe Aim to Build a Bridge of Diplomacy Extending from Mu\u011fla to the World\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Ahmet Aras, Mayor of Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality and President of the Coastal Aegean Municipalities Union, shared his views on the Mu\u011fla City Diplomacy and International Projects Meeting of Metropolitan Municipalities: \u201cCity diplomacy is no longer limited to managing the external relations of cities; it now represents a new approach that enables the sharing of cultural, economic, environmental, and human values with the world. As Mu\u011fla, we are moving forward with this vision. Our goal is to build strong partnerships with global cities while preserving our city\u2019s nature, history, culture, and people. With its potential and commitment to universal values, Mu\u011fla is a city capable of developing a language of diplomacy that extends from the local to the global. Events like this contribute to making local governments more active and visible at the global level. With this understanding, we aim to build a bridge of diplomacy extending from Mu\u011fla to the world.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The \u201cMu\u011fla City Diplomacy and International Projects Meeting of Metropolitan Municipalities,\u201d organized by Mu\u011fla Metropolitan Municipality, was held in Akyaka on 25\u201326 October 2025. The two-day meeting addressed topics such as strengthening international cooperation among metropolitan municipalities, new directions in city diplomacy, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-visits"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1598"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1600,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1598\/revisions\/1600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcitymugla.org\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}