In order to consolidate and strengthen the relationships between United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia and the members which are a priority to the Secretary-General Mr. Mehmet Duman, where successive visits to the diplomatic missions of UCLG-MEWA states members.
Since Lebanon is a middle eastern country, and 77 Lebanese municipalities and union of municipalities are members of United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia section, as the Secretary General Mr. Mehmet Duman is keen on good relations with the UCLG-MEWA members, has visited the headquarters of the Lebanese Consulate in Istanbul and met the head of the diplomatic mission, the Consul General, H.E. Mounir Anouti, accompanied by the UCLG-MEWA Lebanon officer Mr. Bilal El Baroudi, and the public relations officer and the media coordinator Ms. Mona Harb.
The purpose of the visit is to congratulate the new Consul General, Mr. Mounir Anouti head of the diplomatic mission in Istanbul, on the other hand, Mr. Duman gave an introduction about UCLG-MEWA; administrative structure, sections, committees, goals, members, and the agenda of activities for the year 2018. In addition, Mr. Duman mentioned the Sustainable Development Goals “17 SDGs” which adopted and prioritized by UCLG-MEWA.
Mr. Duman handed His Excellency some books and publications issued by UCLG-MEWA in three languages (English, Arabic, and Turkish) and made some invitations for the events organized by UCLG-MEWA in several provinces in Turkey in the days and months ahead this year.
In return, the Lebanese Consul General Mr. Mounir Anouti welcomed Mr. Duman in particular, United Cities and local governments Middle East and West Asia section (UCLG-MEWA) in General, and he made some inquiries about the nature of the joint work between Lebanese and Turkish municipalities and the ongoing relationships in between, and ask about how to provide the necessary assistance by the Consulate General in Istanbul as it represents the Lebanese Republic in Turkey, to strengthen and support the relationship between the local administrations of Lebanon and UCLG-MEWA.
At the end of the meeting, the UCLG-MEWA Secretary-General Mr. Duman presented to the head of the diplomatic mission, the Consul General, H.E. Mounir Anouti commemorative trophy on behalf of UCLG-MEWA.