UCLG-MEWA AND UMT DISCUSSED THE SITUATION OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE FIGHT AGAINST NOVEL CORONAVIRUS (COVID 19).
United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia Section (UCLG-MEWA) and the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (UMT) have addressed the condition of local governments in the MEWA Region in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic via an online meeting.
Mohamad Saadie, President of the Union of Municipalities of Dannieh and President of UCLG-MEWA; Fatma Şahin, Mayor of Gaziantep and President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey; Mehmet Duman, Secretary-General of UCLG-MEWA; and Birol Ekici, Secretary General of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey, participated in the meeting held on May 15, 2020.
The meeting started with Mohamad Saadie evaluating the process of fighting against coronavirus, particularly in relation to the local governments in the region. “The world was caught unprepared for the outbreak,” stated Saadie and also mentioned that we need to be aware of such situations in the future.
Starting her speech by congratulating Mohamad Saadie for his election as UCLG-MEWA President, Fatma Şahin highlighted that Turkey, as one of the countries that relatively better managed the process of fighting the coronavirus, has delivered humanitarian aid to 80 countries.
Mayor Şahin also mentioned the services that Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality provided to fight against the virus and listed some of them, such as mask production, distribution of tracking devices to coronavirus-positive patients’ relatives and people with whom they got into contact, and fever measurement.
Birol Ekici, Secretary-General of UMT, addressed the importance of collaboration with the central government and local governments and also stated that the necessary measures had been taken for municipalities after the announcement of the outbreak by the Turkish government.
Mehmet Duman, Secretary-General of UCLG-MEWA, stated that the danger of the pandemic has not yet passed; and therefore, the works need to proceed cautiously.
Duman also spoke about the online local government talks and activities of UCLG-MEWA and underlined the importance of collaboration to increase the prosperity of cities and revitalize production during the normalization process.
Lastly, Mayor Şahin, who was formerly the UCLG-MEWA President between the years 2016-2019, emphasized that the relations between both parties would continue in the new period as before.