The first meeting of UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility which was established at the Executive Bureau and Council Joint Meeting in November in Malatya, Turkey, took place on 18th of December 2015. The meeting which was organized within the scope of 8th International Transportation Technology Symposium and Exposition, was held in Istanbul Congress Center under the partnership of UCLG-MEWA and İETT (Istanbul Electric Tram and Tunnel Enterprises).
Dannieh Municipalities Union from Lebanon, Irbid Municipality and Al-Ramtha Municipality from Jordan, and Nablus Municipality from Palestine, that are our members from the region, participated in the meeting which started with the opening speeches of Mehmet Duman, UCLG-MEWA Secretary General, and Mümin Kahveci, IETT General Director.
Besides; various non-governmental organizations working on urban mobility such as French Development Agency (AFD), CODATU (Cooperation for Urban Mobility in the Developing World), The Sustainable Development Solutions Network Turkey (UN SDSN Turkey), The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), Columbia Global Centers, The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), WRI Ross Center For Sustainable Cities along with financial institutions and public institutions also attended the meeting.
The agenda of the meeting was defined as presidency elections, the election of the host municipality for the next meeting, discussing and confirming of the program of activities.
In accordance with the agenda, Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, Malatya Metropolitan Municipality, Greater Amman Municipality, Nablus Municipality and Dannieh Municipalities Union were elected as co-presidents whereas IETT was elected to the Presidency of the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility. After the first item of the meeting was discussed, the next meeting was agreed to be held in Amman.
Mümin Kahveci, IETT General Director who gave his appreciation speech after the the elections, highlighted that they would achieve more success with the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility in the 9th International Transportation Technology Symposium and Exposition. After the election of presidency and secretariat, the program of activities which was developed by the UCLG-MEWA Committee on Urban Mobility was discussed and adopted.
The second session of the meeting continued with the presentations of the projects for local authorities and contributions of participating partners such as İETT, CODATU, The Turkish Sustainable Development Solutions Network, Delegation of the European Union to Turkey, AFD and TİKA. Through the Committee on Urban Mobility meeting at which important partners and local authorities were gathered, the gates of new cooperation are expected to be open in days to come.