Mr. Mehmet Duman, the Secretary-General of United Cities and Local Governments Middle East and West Asia (UCLG-MEWA) has paid his maiden visit to the new premises of the D-8 on the 17th of February 2020 and was graciously welcomed by Ambassador Dato’ Ku Jaafar Ku Shaari, D-8 Secretary-General.
Amb. Ku Jaafar briefed the meeting on the recent achievements regarding the priority areas of the Organization and shared informative details about the current projects and initiatives of D-8 where the two prominent institutions can find a common ground to further their cooperation such as the D-8 Designated Airports Network, the D-8 Industrial Zones, the D-8 Payment card system, D-8 Creative Economy and Financial Center and the D-8 Health and Social Protection Program (D-8 HSP). He also highlighted that the Organization has established substantial cooperation with the UN specialized agencies like UNCTAD, FAO, IFAD, UNWTO in an effort to streamline the D-8 Secretariat’s activities with the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN.
Mr. Duman informed on the activities of UCLG-MEWA and stressed the importance of the extension of the scope of the MoU signed in 2015 to explore opportunities for collaboration in joint activities in areas of mutual interest, with a view to pursuing sustainable economic and social development through local governance. Appreciating the hard work in a short time of tenure, Mr. Duman recommended to liase with the UN Habitat as a common platform of cooperation of the two respectful Organizations.
Both sides also emphasized the significance of the D-8 and UCLG-MEWA collaboration as one of the appropriate mechanisms to promote economic cooperation aimed at sustainable development and improving the standards of living for the people in the member states. They also expressed the need for further interaction and agreed to consider a common programme for the local governments of the D-8 Member states.