Mr. Mehmet Duman, Secretary General of UCLG-MEWA, welcomed the Mayor of Abasan Al Kabira from Palestine and the representatives of civil society from Lebanon at the UCLG-MEWA General Secretariat.
Dr. Anwar Abu Zarifa, Mayor of Abasan al-Kabira, and the accompanying delegation from Palestine paid a working visit to UCLG-MEWA on February 25, 2021. Mr. Abu Zarifa affirmed the good relations between Turkey and Palestine. He also expressed his willingness to work in cooperation with UCLG-MEWA.
Mr. Abu Zarifa pointed out the importance of sister cities, and requested that Abasan Municipality have a sister municipality from Turkey Mr. Abu Zarifa also talked about the olive harvesting machines donated by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) to the largest city in Palestine, Al-Khalil. He said that this had a positive impact on the municipality’s income, with hundreds of farmers benefiting from the machines that were used during the harvest season.
On the same day, Mr. Ramzi Zeidan, Director of Balsam-Lebanese Center for Palliative Care, and Mr. Mahmoud Seif El-Din, representative of Al-Amal Society for Development and Social Care in Lebanon, paid a working visit to UCLG-MEWA. Ramzi Zeidan and Mahmoud Seif El-Din talked about their work regarding Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. They also talked about the prosthetic limb assistance and physiotherapy services that they provide for refugees with special needs. The meeting also focused on possible areas of cooperation between the two organizations.